Istanbul Airport
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Istanbul Airport ( tr, İstanbul Havalimanı, ) is the main
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
serving
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. It is located in the
Arnavutköy Arnavutköy ( Albanian village; el, Μέγα Ρεύμα, Mega Revma) is a neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey renowned for its wooden Ottoman mansions and seafood restaurants, as well as for the campus of the prestigious Robert College with its h ...
district on the
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an side of the city. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transferred from
Atatürk Airport Atatürk Airport (former IATA code: IST) ( tr, Atatürk Havalimanı) is a general aviation airport in Istanbul. It used to be an intercontinental passenger and cargo hub and closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019 when all fli ...
to Istanbul Airport on 6 April 2019, following the closure of Atatürk Airport for scheduled passenger flights. The
IATA airport code An IATA airport code, also known as an IATA location identifier, IATA station code, or simply a location identifier, is a three-character alphanumeric geocode designating many airports and metropolitan areas around the world, defined by the ...
IST was also transferred to the new airport. It served more than 37 million passengers in 2021, making it the busiest airport in Europe and 13th-busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic and, by serving more than 27 million international passengers, the 2nd-busiest airport in the world in terms of international passenger traffic.


History


Background

Problems relating to less space at Atatürk Airport made it difficult to build an additional runway. This limited the growth of the airport as well as its city. As a result of this, the Turkish Airport Authority was unable to let charter flights, extra cargo, etc., be available at Atatürk Airport. This increased the issues of congestion relating to air traffic. Hence, the decision to build another airport was taken. This airport aimed to function for Istanbul. The aircraft of Turkish Airlines was shifted to Sabiha Gökçen Airport as not much space was available for parking at Atatürk Airport. Sabiha Gökçen Airport was found to have reached its maximum capacity for the terminal. This terminal could serve 25 million passengers. In addition, in 2015, it had already served flyers equivalent to a number as big as 28 million. This was observed when the growth rate of traffic was at an average of 20 percent in one year, 2013 onward. Atatürk Airport was one of the busiest airports in Europe. Since 2013, it has ranked among the five busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic. In 2017, the two Istanbul airports handled over 100 million passengers. In terms of area airports, the six
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
-area airports serve more than 150 million passengers a year, while the three
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
-area airports serve around 100 million passengers a year.


Location

It was decided to construct the new airport at the intersection of roads to
Arnavutköy Arnavutköy ( Albanian village; el, Μέγα Ρεύμα, Mega Revma) is a neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey renowned for its wooden Ottoman mansions and seafood restaurants, as well as for the campus of the prestigious Robert College with its h ...
, Göktürk, and
Çatalca Çatalca (Metrae; ) is a city and a rural district in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest district in Istanbul by area. It is in East Thrace, on the ridge between the Marmara and the Black Sea. Most people living in Çatalca are either farmers or ...
, north of central Istanbul and between the
Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...
coast towns of , Tayakadın and Akpınar. The area is a region near
Lake Terkos Lake Durusu (also called Lake Terkos or Targus) is a lake in east Thrace, Thrace region of Turkey. It would be eliminated by the planned Istanbul Canal. Description The lake lies in İstanbul Province. The midpoint of the lake is at about . It i ...
. Some of this area was state-owned forest. The distance between Istanbul Airport and Atatürk Airport is approximately . The area encompassed old open-pit coal mines, which were later filled with soil. According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (ÇED) report published in April 2013, there were a total of 2,513,341 trees in the area and 657,950 of them would need to be cut indispensably, while 1,855,391 trees would be moved to new places. However, the Ministry of Forest and Water Management claimed the exact number of trees cut and moved would only be revealed after construction was complete.


Construction

For Istanbul Airport, a tender was made for its construction as well as its functioning. The same was held on May 3, 2013. 4 stages of construction were decided for this project. It is said that with the completion of these stages, the airport being constructed could serve many passengers. Their number was estimated to be around 200 million. Considering the time when the airport was being planned, this serving capacity could be the biggest across the globe. It was decided that in a duration of 42 months, stage 1 would be complete. Also, the handing over of land would get over. The project aimed at utilizing around €7 billion. This sum did not include any financing cost. The government assured a consortium for both construction purposes and operation. Further, passengers in a number of 342 million were assured over a period of 12 years. Grimshaw, based in London, headed this design team. The team had the Nordic Office of Architecture from Norway. In addition, Haptic, based in London, was also a part of the team. At the bidding session on 3 May 2013, only four out of fifteen Turkish and two foreign companies that were qualified as bidders showed up. The Turkish joint venture consortium of Cengiz-Kolin- Limak-Mapa- Kalyon won the tender and were obliged to pay the government
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
26.142 billion including
value-added tax A value-added tax (VAT), known in some countries as a goods and services tax (GST), is a type of tax that is assessed incrementally. It is levied on the price of a product or service at each stage of production, distribution, or sale to the end ...
for a 25-year lease starting from 2018. The completion date of the construction's first stage was officially set for 2018 – 42 months after the finalization of the tender's approval. The groundbreaking ceremony took place on 7 June 2014,''Grundsteinlegung für Mega-Flughafen in Istanbul.''
welt.de, 7. Juni 2014; retrieved, 8 June 2014
though construction only started in May 2015 after the land was officially handed over. The inauguration of the airport took place on the planned date of 29 October 2018. It was reported that the first test landing at the airport would take place on 26 February 2018; however, the first landing took place on 20 June 2018.- "Istanbul Grand Airport to open in October 2018"
(German) 6 October 2017
Testing of navigational and electronic systems with DHMİ aircraft had begun on 15 May 2018. The control tower is in the shape of the Turkish national flower, the
tulip Tulips (''Tulipa'') are a genus of spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes (having bulbs as storage organs). The flowers are usually large, showy and brightly coloured, generally red, pink, yellow, or white (usually in warm ...
.


Project stages

The construction of the airport is taking place in several stages, expanding the airport and its facilities over time. The first stage consists of the main terminal, with an annual passenger capacity of 90 million and an area of – making it the world's largest
airport terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an Fixed-wing aircraft, aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase ...
building under a single roof, despite Dubai International Airport Terminal 3 having a larger floor area at due to tunnels connecting its two concourses. There will also be two pairs of parallel
runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...
s connected to eight parallel
taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...
s to the west of the main terminal, approximately of apron space, and an indoor car-park with a capacity of 12,000 vehicles. In addition, the airport will feature three technical blocks for repairs, maintenance, and fueling, as well as an air traffic control tower, eight ramp control towers, and hangars for cargo and
general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
aircraft. Several other services are also to be in operation, including hospitals, frequent-flyer and VIP lounges, prayer rooms, convention centers, and hotels; some of these are expected to form part of the ''Istanbul Airport City'' project. The second stage will add a third independent runway to the east of the main terminal, as well as a fourth remote runway with an east–west heading and additional taxiways and apron areas. The third stage is planned to add a second passenger terminal with a capacity of 60 million annual passengers and an estimated area of around , as well as an additional runway and new support facilities area. The final and fourth stage of expansion will, along with adding another runway, allow for the construction of
satellite terminal An airport terminal is a building at an airport where passengers transfer between ground transportation and the facilities that allow them to board and disembark from an aircraft. Within the terminal, passengers purchase tickets, transfer th ...
s with a combined capacity of 50 million passengers and an area of up to if needed. Once fully completed by 2025, the airport will have six sets of runways (eight in total), 16 taxiways, and a total annual passenger capacity of 150 million passengers. If fully expanded to a capacity of 200 million, the airport will exhibit four terminal buildings with interconnecting rail access that combine for a total indoor area of . The airport will also have a apron with a parking capacity of 500 aircraft, VIP lounges, cargo and general aviation facilities, a state palace, and indoor and outdoor parking that can accommodate up to 70,000 cars. A medical center,
aircraft rescue and firefighting Aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) is a type of firefighting that involves the emergency response, mitigation, evacuation, and rescue of passengers and crew of aircraft involved in aviation accidents and incidents. Airports with schedule ...
stations, hotels, convention centers, power plants, and
wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is a process used to remove contaminants from wastewater and convert it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once returned to the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on the environme ...
facilities will also be built.


Controversies

The Turkish Chamber of Environmental Engineers (ÇMO) took the project tender to court on grounds that the project violated the existing legislation for the preparation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (ÇED) report. In February 2014, an Istanbul administrative court ordered the construction of the airport to be suspended. However, the groundbreaking ceremony still took place a few months later, on 7 June 2014. A report published in Turkish newspaper ''
Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: " Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Pres ...
'' in February 2018 claimed that more than 400 workers had been killed during the construction of the airport, with accidents killing three to four workers every week, and families of the killed workers being paid to remain silent about the incidents. Turkish daily ''
Evrensel ''Evrensel'' (English: Universal) is a Turkish daily newspaper. History and profile ''Evrensel'' was founded on 7 June 1995. The issues captured and written are from a socialist perspective. The paper is different from other Turkish newspapers in ...
'' also alleged that fatal accidents continued to occur. This prompted opposition MP
Veli Ağbaba Veli Ağbaba (born 3 April 1968) is a Turkish politician from the Republican People's Party (CHP), who has served as a Member of Parliament for Malatya since 12 June 2011. Early life and education Veli Ağbaba was born in Yazıhan, Malatya ...
to submit a written questionnaire to the
Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...
on 13 February 2018. In response, the Turkish Ministry of Labour and Social Security claimed that there were only 27 fatalities during the construction of the airport. In October 2019, UK publications ''
Construction News ''Construction News'' is a monthly publication, plus digital and events services, primarily targeting the United Kingdom construction industry. History Early history The magazine was first published as ''Labour News'' on 30 August 1871, having be ...
'' and ''
Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was kn ...
'' published a joint investigation into fatalities at the airport, nicknamed by workers "the cemetery" as so many have died. By this point, the official death toll had risen to 55, but unofficial estimates suggested that the figure could be "higher than 400". Four architects worked on the airport's design, three of them being UK-based:
Grimshaw Architects Grimshaw Architects (formerly Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners) is an architectural firm based in London. Founded in 1980 by Sir Nicholas Grimshaw, the firm was one of the pioneers of high-tech architecture. In particular, they are known for thei ...
,
Scott Brownrigg Scott Brownrigg (originally Scott Brownrigg & Turner) is a British architecture practice with nine offices in the UK and abroad, with staff of 280. It was founded in 1910 and is headquartered in London. Company The company was originally establis ...
, and Haptic Architects. Mass worker protests broke out on 14 September 2018 after a bus carrying workers crashed, injuring 17. Complaints by workers included poor living conditions in "vermin-infested dormitories", issues in transportation that had left them stranded under the rain or on site during holidays, and long delays in payments, among others.


Operations

The opening ceremony took place on 29 October 2018, scheduled so as to coincide with the 95th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic. The airport had been unofficially known as 'Istanbul New Airport' during construction - the new official name of 'Istanbul Airport' was announced at the opening ceremony. The first flight from the airport was
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
flight TK2124 to the Turkish capital
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
on 31 October 2018. On 1 November 2018, five daily flights began to arrive and depart from the airport: from
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
,
Antalya Antalya () is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, fifth-most populous city in Turkey as well as the capital of Antalya Province. Located on Anatolia's southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish cit ...
,
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...
,
North Nicosia North Nicosia or Northern Nicosia ( tr, Kuzey Lefkoşa ; el, Βόρεια Λευκωσία) is the capital and largest city of the ''de facto'' state of Northern Cyprus. It is the northern part of the divided city of Nicosia, and is governed b ...
, and
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...
, followed by
Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...
and
Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...
starting in December. Before the full transfer, all flights were operated exclusively by
Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
. Regularly scheduled flights to all of the new airport's destinations continued to depart from Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports alongside these trial flights. It was originally planned that on 31 December 2018, all equipment from Atatürk Airport would be transferred to the new airport via the O-7 Motorway. As of 17 January 2019, the transfer phase was set to start 1 March 2019. However, on 25 February, the transfer phase was moved a fourth time to 5 April 2019. The full transfer of all scheduled commercial passenger flights from
Atatürk Airport Atatürk Airport (former IATA code: IST) ( tr, Atatürk Havalimanı) is a general aviation airport in Istanbul. It used to be an intercontinental passenger and cargo hub and closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019 when all fli ...
to the new Istanbul Airport took place on 6 April 2019 between 02:00 and 14:00. Hundreds of trucks carried more than 10,000 pieces of equipment, each weighing about 44 tons were moved to the new airport over 41 hours. Atatürk Airport's
IATA code IATA codes are abbreviations that the International Air Transport Association (IATA) publishes to facilitate air travel. They are typically 1, 2, 3, or 4 character combinations (referred to as unigrams, digrams, trigrams, or tetragrams, respecti ...
IST was also transferred to the new airport. In February 2022,
Turkish Cargo Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the w ...
relocated all cargo flights and operations from their former base at Atatürk Airport to the new airport.aircargoworld.com - Turkish Cargo completes transition to new Istanbul Airport
8 February 2022


Facilities

The airport currently has one terminal in service for domestic and international flights and five runways (three main and two backups) that are currently in operation. The two 17/35 runways are both 4,100 metres (13,451 feet) long, while the 16/34 runways are both 3,750 metres (12,303 feet) long. Runway 18/36 is 3,060 metres (10,039 feet) long, shorter than the other runways, although it is projected to expand to 3,750 metres (12,303 feet), the same length as the 16/34 pair. Runways 17L/35R and 16R/34L are 60 metres (197 feet) wide, while 17R/35L, 16L/34R and 18/36 are 45 metres (148 feet) wide. All runway surfaces are
asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...
.


Concourses

The airport features a total of five concourses lettered A, B, D, F, and G with a total of 143 passenger boarding bridges. Concourse G, which is located in the southeast, is reserved solely for domestic flights. Three passenger boarding bridges of Concourse F which is directly to the north of Concourse G have also been allocated for domestic flights. Concourses A, B, D, and F are used for international flights. The C and E concourses connect directly to the main terminal and are therefore not independent concourses.


Security

3,500 security personnel and a total of 1,850
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
, including 750
immigration officer An immigration officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced. This can cover the rules of entry for visa applicants, foreign nationals or those seeking asylum at the border, detecting and ...
s, provide the airport's security. The site's perimeter is protected using ground radar, fixed
CCTV cameras A closed-circuit television camera can produce images or recordings for surveillance or other private purposes. Cameras can be either video cameras, or digital stills cameras. Walter Bruch was the inventor of the CCTV camera. The main purpose o ...
every 60 meters,
pan–tilt–zoom camera PTZ is an abbreviation that stands for pan-tilt-zoom. The term " pan" refers to the horizontal movement of the lens, "tilt" refers to the vertical movement of the lens, and "zoom" refers to the adjustment of the focal length of the lens. PTZ came ...
s every 360 meters (1,200 feet), thermal cameras and
fiber optic sensor A fiber-optic sensor is a sensor that uses optical fiber either as the sensing element ("intrinsic sensors"), or as a means of relaying signals from a remote sensor to the electronics that process the signals ("extrinsic sensors"). Fibers have ...
s every 720 meters (2,400 feet). The active terminal building uses up to 9,000 CCTV cameras.


Airlines and destinations


Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Istanbul Airport:


Cargo


Statistics

Below is the passenger data and development for Istanbul Airport for the years 2018–2021:


Ground transport

Although currently the airport is only serviced from the city by public
İETT ] Public transport in Istanbul comprises a bus network, various Rail transport, rail systems, funiculars, and sea, maritime services to serve the more than 18 million inhabitants of the city spread over an area of 5712 km2. History ...
and Havaist buses, it will eventually be linked by two lines of the
Istanbul Metro The Istanbul Metro ( tr, İstanbul metrosu) is a rapid transit railway network that serves the city of Istanbul, Turkey. It is operated by Metro Istanbul, a company (formerly known as ''İstanbul Ulaşım A.Ş.'' before 2016), a public enterpris ...
. The new M11 line starting from Gayrettepe station is scheduled to open in October 2022. Another from Halkalı on the
Marmaray The Marmaray () is a intercontinental commuter rail line in Istanbul, Turkey. A rail tunnel running under the Bosphorus strait was connected to an upgraded version of the old suburban train service (known as the banliyö), allowing trains ...
rail line is expected to be completed in 2022. Mainline railway will connect the airport to Halkalı, and via outer city bypass running over the
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge ( tr, Yavuz Sultan Selim Köprüsü) is a bridge for rail and motor vehicle transit over the Bosphorus strait, to the north of two existing suspension bridges in Istanbul, Turkey. It was initially named the Third Bos ...
across the Bosporus and connecting with the Asian rail network at Gebze.


Taxi

Istanbul city taxis are readily available 24 hours a day outside the arrival and departure areas of the airport. A trip to Istanbul city centre by taxi takes approximately 40 minutes.


See also

*
Istanbul Canal The Istanbul Canal ( tr, Kanal İstanbul) is a project for an artificial sea-level waterway, which is planned by Turkey on East Thrace, connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, and thus to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Istanbul Cana ...
*
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge ( tr, Yavuz Sultan Selim Köprüsü) is a bridge for rail and motor vehicle transit over the Bosphorus strait, to the north of two existing suspension bridges in Istanbul, Turkey. It was initially named the Third Bos ...
*
Northern Marmara Motorway The Otoyol 7 (O-7; English: Motorway 7), or Kuzey Marmara Otoyolu, is a Toll road, toll motorway that bypasses Istanbul to the north. The motorway is 243km in length between the Kınalı junction and the Akyazı junction, and is 8 lane ...
*
Çanakkale 1915 Bridge Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...
*
Atatürk Airport Atatürk Airport (former IATA code: IST) ( tr, Atatürk Havalimanı) is a general aviation airport in Istanbul. It used to be an intercontinental passenger and cargo hub and closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019 when all fli ...
* Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport


References


External links

*
Project plan
{{authority control Build–operate–transfer Buildings and structures in Istanbul Province Transport infrastructure under construction in Turkey Airports in Istanbul 2018 establishments in Turkey Airports established in 2018