250 airlines to fly to Istanbul’s third airport: CEO

250 airlines to fly to Istanbul’s third airport: CEO

ISTANBUL - Anadolu Agency
250 airlines to fly to Istanbul’s third airport: CEO Some 250 airlines will fly to Istanbul’s third airport once it is completed, according to the head of the airport construction company, who added that flights from the airport will be made to more than 350 destinations. 
Istanbul Grand Airport CEO Yusuf Akçayoğlu claimed that the new airport would “indirectly” create indirect jobs for around 100,000 people and will also have the largest car park in Europe with a planned capacity of 18,000 vehicles. 

The company is working in a three-day shift model to complete the first section of the airport before Feb. 26, 2018, Akçayoğlu said, adding that this first section will have a passenger capacity of 90 million and a terminal building that covers an area of 1.3 million square meters. 

“I believe the area can serve 110 million passengers because the Atatürk Airport, which now serves around 60 million passengers annually, covers 350,000-400,000 square meters of land,” he added. 

Around 6 billion euros is being spent on the construction of the first section, with around 2.4 billion euros spent so far, including VAT, said Akçayoğlu, adding that the first runway is about to be completed. 

The new under-construction airport in Istanbul is planned to begin operations in 2018 with two runways and one terminal. It is expected to reach a capacity of 150 million passengers after the completion of two more runways and additional facilities.

Once the first section opens, Akçayoğlu said around 2,000 airplanes would be able to land and take off daily.