Le Istanbul's new airportIstanbul New Airport" will finally open its doors on 3 March next year with the transfer of all airline flights from the existingAtaturkas the airport authority recently announced to the Turkish press.
This is the third time that the grandiose infrastructure has seen its opening to traffic postponed. While it was initially planned to transfer all traffic from the current airport to the end of OctoberIn the end, the authorities organised a symbolic opening, with two or three domestic flights currently operational. The month of January was then selected, and it will therefore finally be on 3 March that this new service will be available. 12 billion dollar project will be operational. Problems have been identified, including leaks on the roof, which have led to run-off inside the terminal and in a car park.
In fact, partial opening does not prevent Turkish Airlines to begin transferring certain flights to the new Istanbul airport. The airline has published the timetable for the launch of twelve lines from next January on both its domestic and international networks.
From 10 January, Turkey's national carrier will be operating from both Ataturk and Istanbul New Airport to Ashgabat, Frankfurt, Munich, Tbilisi as well as Paris-Charles de Gaulle international flights. To Paris, Turkish Airlines will offer a daily flight by Airbus A321. On the domestic network, the airline will be starting frequencies to Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay and Trabzon in Turkey. On 11 January, the airline will continue its transfer with new frequencies to Kuwait and Moscow Vnukovo. Finally, on 4 February, London Gatwick will be linked to New Airport four times a week.
The airport can handle 90 million passengers per year during this first phase, and will eventually see its capacity increased to 200 million passengers annual.
Problematic transfer from the city centre
The biggest problem for business travellers to the new airport will be transferring to and from Istanbul city centre. Indeed, the metro lines will not be operational on 3 March. From bus provide transfers to Istanbul, but the distance between the historic centre and the new hub - 54 km - means that the journey takes around an hour. The future M11 metro line is only due to start operating in 2020. It will have two stops in the city centre, with connections to other metro lines. The second line will be inaugurated in 2022 and will link the airport directly to Halkali station.
