Istanbul Airport to open fourth main runway

ISTANBUL

An aerial view of Istanbul Airport. (AA Photo)

Istanbul Airport’s fourth main runway will be inaugurated on Sept. 18 in a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said.

The new runway will bring the airport’s total number of runways to six, strengthening its operational capacity and flexibility. Uraloğlu said Istanbul Airport currently operates three main and two reserve runways.

The 2,820-meter-long and 45-meter-wide concrete runway is the airport’s first oriented along an east-west axis. It is expected to shorten taxiing and flight times, particularly for domestic and eastbound routes, helping reduce fuel consumption and save time.

Uraloğlu said the runway would also improve operational resilience during adverse weather conditions, increase safety margins for takeoffs and landings and support higher on-time departure rates.

The airport introduced Europe’s first Triple Independent Parallel Runway Operations in April 2025. The new runway is expected to enable faster, more independent general aviation activity due to its proximity to hangar areas.