The Istanbul Airport, touted to be one of the largest in the world, was formally inaugurated over the first weekend of April 2019. It cost around $8 billion to build and can handle about 90 million passengers a year currently. However, authorities plan to expand it further and, at its full potential, it will be able to manage 200 million passengers a year, far exceeding the capacity of the biggest and busiest airports across the world. The biggest airport in the world currently – the Hartsfield Jackson in Atlanta, United States – serves roughly half the number of people. Further, at its completion in ten years, it will occupy an area of a whopping 19,000 acres!
The beautiful tulip-shaped air control tower and the magnificent architecture and design won the International Architecture Award in 2016. It also leverages technology effectively, using artificial intelligence and mobile applications to make things easy for customers.
The new airport, which is on the shores of the Black Sea, took years of planning and development before it could begin functioning. It is also one of the prized mega projects of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. While the airport began operations in October 2018, its full inauguration took place on 6th April 2019.
Turkey’s current international airport – Ataturk – will continue operations until the end of the year, during which more services will be transferred to the new airport. By the weekend, around 90 per cent of the move was completed. The new airport is around 30 kilometres away from Ataturk airport.
This new airport, according to officials, will serve as a bridge between Europe and Asia.
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