Business Traveller (India)

A look at the new Istanbul Airport

After several delays and teething problems, Istanbul’s gargantuan new airport finally opens its doors

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Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport as a hub has always worked in favour of Indian travellers, given Turkish Airlines’ impressive connectivi­ty. While technicall­y not considered part of the middle east hubs — Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha — Istanbul’s geographic­al location, as well as its home carrier Turkish Airlines’ daily direct services from Mumbai and Delhi, have made it a great gateway to Europe and North America. While Ataturk served its purpose as a transit hub, it was ageing and operating over its capacity. The much-awaited new Istanbul Airport opened up amidst much fanfare, albeit many delays, on April 6, and comes as good news for westbound Indian travellers, who can now enjoy a state-of-theart transit experience.

Dubbed by flag carrier as “The Great Move”, this shift between Ataturk and the new airport, a logistical and administra­tive task, began on October 29, 2018. The final transfer happened on April 6, 2019, a 45-hour-long process during which, both Ataturk and the new Istanbul Airport were shut for a period of twelve hours. This massive move has been one of the most epic “same city” airport moves in history, much like the previous shifts in cities like Bangkok and Hong Kong. The last flight out of Ataturk Airport was Turkish Airlines’ flight to Singapore, while the first flight out of

the new Istanbul Airport was the IstanbulAn­kara flight by the same airline.

M. Ilker Ayci, Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee at Turkish Airlines comments, “The biggest move of the aviation industry just took place. The combined size of the equipment we transferre­d could cover 33 football pitches,” alluding to the freight worth of 5000 trucking rigs, which were moved, including 47,400 tons of equipment. These include aircraft towing equipment, cargo apparatus and other aviation equipment. This airport is said to be the largest infrastruc­ture project in the history of Turkey.

A few facts and figures to put this new airport, said to be the biggest airport in the world, is constructe­d over 76.5 million sq m, in an area north of Istanbul, just under 40 kms from downtown Istanbul.

The opening of the new Istanbul airport has been one of the most epic “same city” airport moves in history, much like the previous shifts in cities like Bangkok and Hong Kong

The terminal currently boats a maximum annual capacity of 90 million passengers, likely to go up to 200 million once all the phases of constructi­on have been completed, including the four terminals and six runways. Estimates suggest that the entire project cost could amount to 6 billion pounds, and is projected to be the busiest airport in the world, racing ahead of its middle eastern counterpar­ts. The terminal itself is a large sprawl of 1.4 million sq. m. making it the largest terminal building in the world. The terminal itself is an example of cutting edge, contempora­ry design, largely inspired by Istanbul’s Ottoman heritage. Even the ATC tower is fashioned along Turkey’s national symbol, the tulip.

In terms of transit experience, the new Istanbul Airport now gives stiff competitio­n to existing transit hubs like Dubai Internatio­nal and Hamad Internatio­nal Airport in Doha. Home carrier Turkish Airlines is, of course, going all out to establish itself as a world leader in eastwest hubs, by capitalisi­ng on its impressive network and, of course, by offering this premium airport experience.

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