Since opening in October 2018, Istanbul Airport has taken over as Istanbul’s primary airport, replacing Istanbul Ataturk Airport. In just three years, the new airport has handled over 100 million passengers. With five runways and a single terminal housing both domestic and international passengers, Istanbul Airport has received various accolades noting its exceptional design and facilities.
A history of Istanbul Airport
With Turkish authorities keen to enhance Istanbul’s air capacity, the construction of a new airport had long been on the agenda before a tender was awarded in 2013. After five years, Istanbul Airport officially opened on October 29th, 2018 and began taking over as Istanbul’s main airport.
By April 2019, all scheduled commercial flights were transferred from Istanbul Ataturk Airport to the new Istanbul Airport. Set across a single integrated terminal building with five concourses, Istanbul Airport is now considered one of Europe’s finest airports. The airport is still under expansion, with plans to build more runways and additional terminals by 2027 to boost capacity to 150-200 million passengers.
Why build a new airport?
Istanbul’s old airport, Istanbul Ataturk Airport, had long served as the city’s primary airport before Istanbul Airport was conceived. However, the existing airport was severely limited in its expansion potential due to space constraints.
Even after the addition of Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Istanbul’s secondary airport, in 2001, Turkish authorities decided a new airport was essential to the growth of Istanbul and settled on a location by 2013.
The new site is around 35 km from Istanbul Ataturk Airport and the same distance from central Istanbul. Construction on the new airport formally began in 2015 and it would be ready for inauguration in just three and a half years.
Constructed in phases
Despite taking over as Istanbul’s main airport, Istanbul Airport is still only partially complete. The airport is being built over four phases, as laid out by parent company IGA. The airport is still in the process of completing Phase 2, which will add another runway.
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Phase 3 will add a second terminal building with the capacity for up to 60 million passengers and an additional runway. Phase 4 will add yet another runway and the option to include additional satellite terminal buildings for 50 million passengers.
Once complete, Istanbul Airport will boast six sets of runways and could eventually handle up to 200 million passengers each year.
Award-winning airport
Despite being open for just three years, Istanbul Airport has received numerous awards celebrating its architecture and facilities. Istanbul Airport took home the ‘Europe’s Best Airport’ award at the 17th ACI Europe Awards for its latest accolade.
Before this, readers of Condé Nast Traveler voted Istanbul Airport as the world’s second-best airport after perennial-winner Singapore Changi Airport. It was also named ‘Airport of the Year’ at the 2021 Air Transport Awards in September.
Have you visited Istanbul Airport yet? How does it compare to the old Ataturk Airport? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments.
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