Sizing Up Istanbul

Turkey ’s newest international airport promises to be Europe’s largest and most hi-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 travellers 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 oversubscribed and in-demand slots before being able to commence flights.

GROWING DEMAND

While by no means the worst airport to arrive or change planes at, Istanbul’s main Ataturk airport – one of the largest in Europe – 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 through Sabiha Gokcen, and further traffic growth is anticipated.

Enter Istanbul Yeni Havalimani ('Istanbul New Airport'), which aims to serve the city’s fast-growing tourist traffic and anticipated growth in transit traffic.

Carved out of marshlands and derelict mine workings to the northwest of Istanbul, with a total area of more than 7,650 hectares, 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 13,571 hectares, and King Fahd International in Saudi Arabia, which covers a whopping 77,600 hectares). The main passenger terminal will be the largest in the world housed under one roof.

The main relocation, originally planned for the end of October, has been postponed and is now likely to be at the end of December. In the interim, flights have operated to Baku, Cyprus and several domestic destinations.