The obligation that the majority of those authorized to manage and represent the company in enterprises to obtain a sanitary work permit for airport services must be a Turkish citizen has been removed.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (SHGM) "Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on Opening Offices and Working Permits for Terminals and Sanitary Workplaces in Airports Open to Civilian Air Transportation" has been published in the Official Gazette.

Accordingly, the obligation to renew the terminal operating license will be applied to enterprises that operate the airport and the terminal together and that receive airport terminal operation license from the SHGM before the date of entry into force of the regulation in question.

Operators that receive a single terminal operating license for domestic and international lines within the same building from the SHGM, before the date of entry into force of the regulation, will apply to the Directorate General and obtain a terminal operating license for each domestic line and international line service they operate for a maximum of 60 days prior to the license renewal date.

For the license to be granted in this scope, a license renewal fee for each license will be taken instead of the first operation fee of the terminal operation license included in the SGHM service tariff.

Without prejudice to the provisions of the Law on Privatization Practices for customs-bonded temporary storage areas and warehouse services with passage to the air side, the obligations that the majority of those authorized to manage and represent the company in enterprises that will obtain sanitary work licenses must be a Turkish citizen, that the majority of votes must belong to Turkish partners in accordance with the articles of association of the company and that at least 51 percent of the company's shares must be registered in the name of the holder, have been removed.

Following the rendering of the allocated area for service after signing the area allocation agreement with the application authority and the completion of construction of the new building or completion of the renovation period of the existing building, the main file will be prepared and submitted to the SHGM by the application authority within 15 days at the latest with the documents specified in the application form. The enterprise with a terminal operating license may request to continue its operations at another terminal with a terminal operating license at the same airport for construction or operational reasons. In this case, the assessment will be made by the SHGM in terms of aviation safety and security and passenger facilities. For the terminals operated within the scope of public-private cooperation (PPP), the opinion of the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) will be taken. If the evaluation is positive, the company may be allowed to perform terminal operations for a period deemed appropriate by the SHGM upon request.

The terminal operator and airport operator will be responsible for eliminating the contradictions of the operator licensed by the SHGM. In the event that the contradiction cannot be resolved by the General Directorate within a period of up to 60 days, the terminal operator and airport operator will apply to the SHGM for the cancellation of the license.

Sanitary workplaces tendered by the DHMİ and operated by the private sector within the scope of PPP projects will be inspected by the DHMİ at least once a year in terms of compliance with regulations. Inspections at airports with more than 50 sanitary workplaces can be done at least once in two years.

As a result of the evaluation to be made by the SHGM, the activities of workplaces that harm society and the environment will be stopped immediately. If the infringement is not resolved within 90 days, the license will be canceled. The operators of terminals without terminal operation licenses before the date of entry into force of the regulations at the airports can apply to the SHGM until Dec. 31, 2019 for the obliged airport terminal business license.