Türkiye plans to complete major airport capacity expansion and renovation projects across the country in 2026, official documents show, as its aviation infrastructure faces rising passenger and air traffic volumes.
The expansion drive began this week with the launch of the first phase of upgrades at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport, where authorities inaugurated a third runway and a new air traffic control tower on Monday.
The project, implemented with an investment of 298 million euros (about $346.6 million), is expected to eventually raise Esenboğa Airport’s annual passenger capacity from 20 million to 30 million.
Data compiled from the Pre-Accession Economic Reform Program for 2026-2028 show that the government continues to plan transport infrastructure investments within a long-term, globally integrated strategy amid steadily rising passenger numbers.
Expansion work is also ongoing at Istanbul Airport, Europe’s first civil aviation hub capable of simultaneous triple independent runway operations, which became operational last year.
Under the airport’s second-stage, first-phase expansion, a fourth main runway oriented east-west is scheduled to enter service in 2026. Istanbul Airport currently operates with three main north-south runways and two reserve runways.
The airport has an annual passenger capacity of around 90 million, a figure expected to rise to as much as 200 million once all development phases are completed.
At Hatay Airport, which sustained damage during the powerful earthquakes that struck southeastern Türkiye in early 2023, renovation work on the main runway is ongoing and is scheduled for completion in 2026.
The project includes the reconstruction of the main runway, rapid-exit and connecting taxiways, perimeter walls, reinforcement of the terminal building and other infrastructure upgrades, with completion targeted by year-end.
Separately, a 740-million-euro capacity expansion project at Antalya Airport was completed last year, boosting its annual passenger handling capacity from 35 million to 82 million, driven largely by tourism-related demand.
Construction at the Yozgat and Bayburt-Gümüşhane airports is also expected to be completed in 2026, which would increase the total number of airports in Türkiye to 60.
Air passenger traffic in Türkiye reached a record 247 million in 2025, and the government expects the figure to exceed 260 million in 2026.
