The operator of Istanbul’s mega new airport, Europe's busiest, is exploring an international foray into markets including North America, the Middle East and Pakistan as it seeks to diversify and expand its operations, according to a report by Bloomberg on Wednesday.
The shareholders of IGA Havalimanı Işletmeleri A.Ş., as the airport outside the Turkish metropolis is formally known, are looking for local partners to collaborate on bids for projects in the U.S., according to Mehmet Kalyoncu, a director on the board of the airport operator.
The company would also like to participate in mega airport projects planned in the Middle East, Kalyoncu said.
“We want to start these steps to put our efforts on an international level to maybe find a chance to repeat something possibly similar to what we have achieved,” he said in an interview in London.
Projects such as the modernization of New York’s John F. Kennedy and Los Angeles Airport are appealing given the similarity in complexity and scale to the building of IGA, Kalyoncu said.
Located 32 kilometers (20 miles) outside Istanbul on the coast of the Black Sea, IGA has three operational runways.
An average of 1,375 flights per day in 2023 granted Istanbul Airport the title of Europe's busiest for a fourth consecutive year, according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol).
The hub, which now ranks No. 2 behind London Heathrow Airport, occupies an area larger than Manhattan and will eventually cater to 200 million passengers with six runways.
Istanbul Airport was officially opened in late October 2018 before becoming fully operational in April 2019.
While some international projects will be led by Kalyon Holdings, Kalyoncu said he aims to involve project partner Cengiz Inşaat A.Ş. in other overseas forays. Funding will be project-specific, depending on the concession agreements, according to Kalyoncu.
The company expects to firm up its international expansion plans in the next one to two years, he said.
