Sizing Up Istanbul

Turkey ’s newest international airport also promises to be Europe’s largest and most high tech

- David O' Byrne

As anyone who’s flown into or through either of Istanbul’s two international airports recently can testify, the city is no longer a marginal destination on the fringe of Europe.

Rather, it’s grown into a major destination for both business travelers and tourists, and an increasingly important transit hub on the route to East Asia.

No surprise then that both the city’s airports, Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen, are busy to the point of congestion. International airlines are already queuing for over-subscribed and in-demand slots before being able to commence flights.

GROWING NEED

While by no means the worst airport at which to arrive or change planes, Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport is most certainly one of the largest in Europe – and has begun to creak a little at the seams.

The 20 million passengers it was handling 15 years ago ballooned to 64 million last year, with an additional 31 million passing though Sabiha Gokcen, and further traffic growth is anticipated.

However, overcrowded waiting areas and long queues at check-in and passport control will soon be a thing of the past. The planned opening on October 29 of a major new international airport marks another modern milestone for this ancient crossroads. For the time being the enormous facility is simply called Istanbul Yeni Havalimani (“Istanbul New Airport”). Its strategy is to serve both the city’s fast-growing tourist traffic and also the anticipated growth in transit traffic.

Carved out of marshlands and derelict mine workings to the northwest of Istanbul, with a total area of nearly 30 square miles, the new airport promises to be the largest by area in Europe, and one of the biggest in the world (the only ones that surpass it are Denver International at 52 square miles, and King Fahd International in Saudi Arabia, which covers a whopping 300 square miles).