Economic crisis or no economic crisis in Turkey, nothing should disrupt theEurope's largest airport to open at the end of October. The newIstanbul - a provisional name pending a final decision - is located 35 km north of the city and is expected to handle up to 90 million passengers. Over the next decade, it will be able to handle an additional 60 million passengers, and eventually some 200 million passengers.
To meet the objective of inauguration on 29 october a symbolic day as it is the day of the Celebration of the Republic of TurkeyThe authorities were in a race against time. It took just three and a half years to complete this gigantic project, the latest in a series of mega-infrastructures in the country over the last fifteen years. The platform covers almost 80 million m² of floor space1.3 million for the terminal. This will enable 114 aircraft to dock simultaneously at the terminal. Baggage will be conveyed via a 42 km long sorting system. Two parallel runways of 3,750 m will be open at the inauguration, with a third runway of 4,000 m planned before 2020.
Istanbul's new airport will be linked by a express train to the centre of Istanbul, as well as a line of metro and a network of motorways: it will take 45 minutes by car to get to the city.
The airport will become official hub of Turkish Airlines and its partners within Star Allianceoffering connections to some 300 destinations.
However, there is still a mystery surrounding the actual opening of the hub. While Turkish President Erdogan has repeatedly stated that the new Istanbul airport will open on 29th OctoberThere is increasing talk of a symbolic opening. The future platform will not really take off until end DecemberThe complexity of the transfer means that it could even take place in January.
