airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...
off the coast of
Rize Province
Rize Province () is a province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. The province of Erzurum is to the south. Its area is 3,835 km2, and its population is 344,016 (2022). The capital is the city of R ...
, northeastern
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.
Overview
The airport was opened for commercial business on 14 May 2022, with
Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları''), or legally Türk Hava Yolları Anonim Ortaklığı, is the flag carrier of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 352 destinations (including cargo) in Europe, Asia, Oce ...
, soon followed on the same day with
AJet
AJet, formerly branded as AnadoluJet until 31 March 2024, is a Turkish low-cost airline operating domestic flights as well as international flights to Northern Cyprus, Europe and Western Asia from its base at Sabiha Gökçen International Airp ...
. On 3 July 2022,
Pegasus Airlines
Pegasus Airlines () (), sometimes stylized as Flypgs, is a Turkish low-cost airline headquartered in the Kurtköy area of Pendik, Turkey, with bases at several Turkish airports.
History
Foundation and early years
On 1 December 1989, two b ...
also began operating to the airport. On 1 July 2023, SalamAir started seasonal operations to Muscat in Oman internationally, making this the airport's first international route.
The airport is situated off the coast of
Yeşilköy
(; meaning "Green Village"; prior to 1926, San Stefano or Santo Stefano , ) is an affluent neighbourhood () in the municipality and district of Bakırköy, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its population is 25,039 (2022). on the Marmara Sea about ...
Rize Province
Rize Province () is a province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. The province of Erzurum is to the south. Its area is 3,835 km2, and its population is 344,016 (2022). The capital is the city of R ...
. It is east of
Rize
Rize (; ; ; ka, რიზე}; ) is a coastal city in the eastern part of the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Rize Province and Rize District.Artvin
Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District. It was constructed on ground obtained through filling a part of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...
shore by rocks brought from nearby quarries in Merdivenli, Hisarlı, Kanlımezra and Kuzeyce. To fill up to -deep sea, at least 85 million tons of rock was required. The airport building covers an area of , and the runway is long at width parallel to the seashore. The construction works began with groundbreaking in 2017. It is the country's second airport of its sort following Ordu–Giresun Airport. It is expected that the airport will serve about two million passengers annually. The construction cost was budgeted to 750 million (approx. US$206 million).
Airlines and destinations
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights at Rize–Artvin Airport: