Istanbul Airport takes off
Turkish Airlines moves to its new home and celebrates with a flight to the capital city
ISTANBUL Airport has started serving international and domestic flights after its mega move.
Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines dispatched its first flight to capital Ankara on Saturday.
Ilker Ayci, chairman of Turkish Airlines, said: “Today in our new home we open the doors to a new adventure and fly to our capital once again for our first flight.”
On Friday, the big switch from Ataturk Airport to the new Istanbul Airport began.
The first phase of the airport opened in October last year, coinciding with the 95th anniversary of Turkish Republic.
With an annual capacity for 200 million passengers – with the completion of all four phases with six runways in 2028 – Istanbul Airport is set to become a global aviation hub, with flights to more than 350 destinations around the world.
After its completion, the airport will serve 250 aviation companies, with a daily capacity for 2 000 planes to land and take off.
Turkish Airlines general manager Bilal Eki said THY has carried 841 915 passengers on 4 872 flights since the move.
“We will surpass 1 million with today’s passengers. It is going fine and will get even better,” he said on social media yesterday. Already seen as the new centre for aviation, Istanbul Airport can handle 90 million passengers a year in the current phase of development, and despite this being a high figure, it is nothing compared with its potential capacity to serve 200 million after completion of all phases.
The world of civil aviation witnessed the greatest logistical operation in its history with THY’s move to its new home.
The operation, dubbed the “great move” started at 3am on April 5. Officials announced that the final move took less time than the estimated 45-hour planning, reaching 96 percent within 33 hours.
The flag carrier moved 10 000 pieces of equipment weighing more than 47 000 tons, and trucks carried equipment a distance of 400 000 kilometres, travelling an equivalent of 10 times around the world. More than 1 800 personnel were employed during the operation.