Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport to be closed after opening of new airport, THY says

Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport will be closed down after the city’s third airport is completed and opened to flights, Turkish Airlines Chairman Hamdi Topçu said during a news conference in the northern province of Kastamonu on March 1.

“Atatürk Airport has become insufficient [for the air traffic of the city]. Turkey is aiming to become a center with 500 billion dollars exportation. Such an airport is a disadvantage for us with such an aim. Atatürk Airport will be closed down when the new airport is opened. Because they will be using the same airspace, it will be difficult for the two airports to operate at the same time,” said Topçu, revealing the fate of city’s first airport in Yeşilköy.

The third airport under construction to the north of the city will have a capacity of 150 million passengers when it becomes fully operational.

“That means it will be the world’s biggest airport. The airport with the world’s largest passenger capacity is located in Atlanta, with a 90-million passenger capacity. We will hopefully surpass that,” said Topçu, speaking at the Common Sense Meeting organized by the Kastamonu Development Foundation.

On Feb. 12, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said around 10 billion euros had been invested in the third airport project at the construction phase and the project would ultimately total 32 billion euros with another 22 billion euros in subsequent phases, as he inspected the project’s giant construction site.