Istanbul Airport will boost its passenger capacity to 120 million by the end of 2025, a senior executive said Wednesday, part of an ambitious expansion that will eventually position the facility to become the largest civil aviation hub in the world.
The plan is part of an ongoing second investment phase at the airport that can handle 90 million passengers a year in the current phase.
"Once all phases are completed, the capacity will reach 200 million passengers. The investments for the second phase started last summer, and when completed by the end of 2025, the capacity will increase to 120 million," said Selahattin Bilgen, CEO of IGA, the operator of the airport.
All four phases of the airport's construction and expansion, including six runways, are expected to be completed by 2028.
Istanbul Airport was officially opened in late October 2018 before becoming fully operational in April 2019.
The gleaming glass-and-steel structure along the Black Sea coast has managed to turn into one of the most important transit centers in aviation ever since.
The airport served around 76 million passengers last year, up from around 52.75 million in 2019. It looks to increase the count to 85 million throughout 2024, IGA has said.
Bilgen emphasized the high economic impact of the airport, noting its pivotal role in European aviation.
“Istanbul Airport is breaking records in European aviation. About 80% of our passengers are international, and half of these are transfer passengers, contributing directly to our economy through their foreign exchange expenditures,” he told an interview with private broadcaster CNBC-e.
The airport’s role as a transfer hub is particularly significant for travelers from China and the Far East.
“These passengers typically spend more than European travelers, averaging $50 per person in just a few hours. One of our objectives is to increase the number of these passengers who choose Türkiye as their destination rather than just a transfer point,” Bilgen added.
Bilgen also referred to the expanding facilities at the airport, which he says reflect the surging passenger numbers.
“Currently, we have 52,000 square meters (some 560,000 square feet) of duty-free shopping and 32,000 square meters dedicated to dining. As the passenger count rises, we will increase these areas accordingly. In the upcoming period, we plan to enhance retail spaces tailored for Far Eastern passengers,” he noted.
Efforts are ongoing to boost flights from China to Türkiye, with the potential to significantly increase the airport’s economic impact on Istanbul, he added.
Bilgen also discussed the operational aspects and plans to install a system at the airport that will enable three aircraft to land and take off independently, marking the first in Europe.
Those plans were first announced by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu this February.
Trials are expected to begin later this year. The airport's third runway was inaugurated in June 2020.
"There is no example of triple parallel operation in Europe; we only see this in the U.S. It's difficult to give an exact date for the three runways, but this is a major prestige for both Istanbul and Türkiye," Bilgen said.
Meanwhile, Istanbul Airport’s success in air connectivity has been affirmed by the “2024 Airport Industry Connectivity Report” from the airport industry body Airports Council International (ACI) Europe.
The report placed Istanbul Airport at the top among European airports in "direct connectivity," seen as a major achievement considering the overall air connectivity in Europe remains 14% below pre-pandemic levels. The hub was followed by Amsterdam Schiphol and London Heathrow.
The airport has outperformed its pre-pandemic performance by 9%. It boasts the best direct connectivity to the Middle East and the second-best to the Asia-Pacific region, with a 23% increase compared to the previous year, the report said.
