The aviation story of Samarinda began during Japanese occupation. The Japanese army acquired a land in Temindung for use as a small airfield, the land originally named Temindung which explains the name of the airport.[1]
The second airport in Samarinda, Borneo, was located at Mahakam. In 1949, KLM set a new mark in Samarinda aviation history.[2] The airline successfully took off at the airport, operated by its Catalina amphibious aeroplanes.[2] They were the first aeroplane that took off from Samarinda.
In 1950, Shell plc operated weekly flight from Balikpapan to Samarinda.[3][4] On 17 September 1950, the first president of Indonesia Sukarno, took off from the airport on his first visit to Samarinda.[5]
In 1973, the story of Temindung expansion began. The location of Temindung belonged to Pertamina (Pelita Air Service) and the government, who owned the land. It became a small airport for the government.
In 1974 the passenger terminal was completed, and Temindung became a domestic airport, renamed Samarinda Airport. But it remains popularly known as Temindung Airport.
At that time, the airlines operating from the airport were:
Temindung was taking on more flights than it could handle,[7] and buildings had spread to within spitting distance of the runway.[8][9] It was decided to look for a new area, which is away from the congested Samarinda central area.[8] In 2005, construction of the brand new airport began at Sungai Siring, 16 km to the north of Temindung.[10]
At 15:36 on May 23, 2018, the city's main air hub closed its doors, moving services to the new Samarinda International Airport in the morning of the following day,[11] characterised by wingspanned curve roof and solar-powered rooftops. In 2019, Samarinda International Airport handled some 1 million travellers.[12]