Erdoğan hails Istanbul Airport as global aviation leader

ISTANBUL

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during the opening ceremony of the fourth runway at Istanbul Airport on Sept 18. (AA Photo)

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 18 hailed Istanbul Airport as a global leader in aviation as he inaugurated its fourth main runway, pledging further investments to keep the airport at the forefront of international air travel.

“The fourth main runway and additional investments we are putting into service today will hopefully make a significant contribution to Istanbul Airport, which is a world leader in global connectivity,” Erdoğan said at an event marking the runway’s opening.

He said the new investments would improve the airport’s service standards by reducing taxiing and waiting times, improving takeoff and landing safety and saving fuel and time.

The new concrete runway is 2,820 meters (9,252 feet) long and 45 meters (148 feet) wide. Its addition brings the total number of runways at Istanbul Airport to six.

Erdoğan said the runway represented an investment of 890 million euros ($1.01 billion) and would help reduce fuel consumption, travel times and emissions.

The president said his government had invested a total of 2.12 trillion Turkish Liras ($43.4 billion) at current prices in transportation and infrastructure in Istanbul, including 604.4 billion liras ($12.3 billion) in aviation.

“We have made Türkiye one of the countries with the widest flight networks in the world,” Erdoğan said.

He said activities connected to Istanbul Airport currently contribute about 2.2 percent of Türkiye’s gross domestic product, equivalent to $24.2 billion.

The airport is projected to support 472,000 jobs and generate $44 billion in revenue by 2030, Erdoğan said.

“The airport’s star will shine even brighter once the wars around us end and tranquility is restored in our region,” he said.

Erdoğan also used the ceremony to criticize the opposition, accusing it of focusing on internal disputes rather than projects and investment.

“While those who criticize our project as waste continue to waste their days with debates over names and party congresses, we will not stop bringing new investments to our country,” he said.

“We have much work to do, unlike those who are constantly fighting... We will continue to keep Istanbul Airport at the pinnacle of global aviation through new investments.”

Erdoğan said political maneuvering, corruption and what he described as obstructionist politics had no place in the country’s future.

“For those who have become accustomed to sailing their ships through obstructionist politics without putting one stone on another for years, the sea has now run dry,” he said.