A IRP OR T S
36
the six runways and one half of the terminal space will be operational, giving the airport an opening capacity of up to 90 million passengers a year. Tis will allow it to take over all of the traffic currently handled by Ataturk, which will stop scheduled passenger flights. Cargo flights will for the time being stay put at Ataturk. Expansion of facilities is already
scheduled with a third runway slated to be completed within 16 months of opening, and the three remaining operational runways and the emergency runway to be finished aſter a further 27 months. All approach roads, drop-off points
and parking are also scheduled to be operational, although access by public transport will be limited to service buses for the first year. An under-construction metro link (called the M11) from Istanbul’s central Gayrettepe metro station will have only nine stops, 24-hour service and make the journey end-to-end in around 25 minutes – less than half the time of metro journeys from central Istanbul to Ataturk. More transport links are planned, with a tender already held to extend
JUNE 2 0 18
the Marmaray metro line that links Istanbul’s European and Asian halves, and will allow connections to the city’s second airport Sabiha Gokcen on the eastern side. Five major new roads will link the airport to regional motorways. Preparations are also underway
for development of a high-speed train link to run across the recently completed third Bosphorus bridge, called the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. Tis will allow direct rail connections to the Turkish capital Ankara and other major cities in Anatolia.
OVERNIGHT SWITCH With Ataturk airport slated to remain open only for cargo flights, all of its existing passenger operations will be moved to the new airport over a 48-hour period, with full operations to commence on opening day. Tis 48-hour race, the culmination
of two years of intensive planning, will involve the coordination of airport staff, airlines, the Turkish police, the military and Istanbul city authorities, as well as a flotilla of private haulage companies in what promises to be the largest
THE METRO LINK TO CENTRAL ISTANBUL WILL HAVE
STOPS AND RUN 9 HOURS A DAY, TAKING
24 25
MINUTES
peacetime logistical operation that Turkey has ever seen. Airlines operating at Ataturk will
be moved one at a time, with each move scheduled to allow them to service flights departing from Ataturk one day, and to receive the returning flight at the new airport the following day. Te national carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY), is to be the last to leave its historic base. With so much effort having gone
into planning it seems that the one thing the planners and politicians in Ankara have overlooked is the name of its new airport. To date officials have declined
ABOVE: Check-in area inside the terminal
to confirm rumours that it will be named in honour of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying only that the name won’t be announced until opening day. Tat could prove to be a wise decision given the recent announcement of snap elections at the end of June 2018. Although President Erdogan is widely expected to be returned to power, surprises in Turkish elections are not unknown, and officials may wish to postpone ordering signage until the election results have been confirmed. BT
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