Atatürk airport to serve for repairs, cargo after Istanbul's 3rd airport opens

The issue of whether Istanbul's Atatürk Airport will be closed down once the city's third airport is completed and opened to flights has recently been a major matter of curiosity. State Airports Authority (DHMİ) General Manager Funda Makbule Ocak, who came together with journalists at the firm's facility in Florya on Saturday, said the aviation sector has gained momentum in Turkey in recent years and announced that Atatürk Airport will not be closed completely after the opening of the new airport, shedding light on the matter.

Ocak said, similar in all major metropolises, the new airport in Istanbul must also have an alternate aerodrome. She stressed that they have made very serious infrastructure investments on Atatürk Airport and said that once they shift commercial flights to the new airport, they will provide very significant opportunities to other aviation services, such as general aviation, individual cargoes, flight trainings and maintenance and repair hangars at Atatürk Airport. She added that this represents an important market and that they are currently doing their utmost in aerospace planning.

Construction of Istanbul's third airport, whose first phase will be completed by 2018, has been undertaken at the fastest pace possible. While 128 airlines currently fly to 276 destinations in 110 countries from Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport, the third airport will double this number, hosting 250 airline companies once complete.

Along with the opening of the new airport, 70 million passengers are expected in 2018, and there is a possibility for this figure to jump to 90 million. The first stage includes two runways. It will be able to host 110 million passengers with its building sized 1.3 million square meters, compared to Atatürk Airport's annual service to over 60 million passengers with a terminal building, having an area of about 400,000 square meters.

Atatürk Airport broke a new record last year with a total number of 1,500 arrivals and departures on Sept. 18. Some 2,000 planes will land and take off when the first phase of the airport is put into service. Moreover, Istanbul's third airport will host flights to over 350 destinations in different parts of the world, thereby becoming one of the world's largest transportation hubs.