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Once completed, the new airport in Istanbul will be the largest in the world. It will reach two terminals, six runways and a capacity of 200 million pbadengers a year. When President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially inaugurates the Black Sea Airport on the day of the Turkish National Day on Monday, everything will be reduced by one size. Only five destinations that Turkish Airlines wants to approach, the big move is only at the end of December. Regular flights will begin in early January.
The airport, which will replace Atatürk's smallest airport on the Marmara Sea, will make Istanbul a hub for air traffic between Europe and Asia. For Erdogan, the project in the north of Istanbul is an important step in the creation of a "new Turkey". First, 90 million pbadengers a year will be treated there. After the completion of the last stage of construction in 2028, this number is expected to reach 200 million.
The numbers are ambitious, but there is no doubt that the new airport will be needed to cope with ever-increasing pbadenger traffic worldwide. Turkish Airlines has developed considerably in recent years and is today one of the world 's leading airlines. The existing Atatürk Airport has long been overcrowded and can not be expanded because it is located in the city center.
Protest and criticism of workers
The construction of the new mega-airport lasted only three years, but there were delays. Workers' protests against miserable housing, poor working conditions and heavy time pressures, which have repeatedly led to fatal accidents, caused unrest in September. Police arrested hundreds of workers protesting, then the airport management delayed the commissioning for two months.
Even before, the prestigious Erdogans project had sparked controversy: environmentalists had criticized the fact that the airport had cut down hundreds of thousands of trees in the few remaining forests around Istanbul, had sealed large tracts and disrupted the Vogelzugrouten on the Bosphorus. The airport company IGA, for its part, points out that the area of 76 km2 is mainly built on old coal mines.
There were also reviews on the location, as the area on the Black Sea coast is often foggy and windy. In addition, the airport is far from the city center of Istanbul. Until the connection to the metro is completed in 2020, pbadengers have to travel by bus or taxi – the journey time without congestion is a good hour. Many residents of Istanbul could therefore prefer the second Sabiha Gokcen International Airport on the Asian side.
The airport is one of the major projects with which Erdogan wants to modernize the Bosphorus metropolis. A third bridge over the Bosphorus and a motorway on the Black Sea, already connected, connect the new airport. Critics see it as a step towards opening new building plots on the coast, which should be particularly beneficial for the party's environmental contractors.
The name will be announced
The appointment is eagerly awaited. The airport still operates as a new airport in Istanbul, Erdogan wants to announce the real name on Monday. It was discussed the preservation of the name of the founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, but also the name of Erdogan himself, as well as Sultan Abdülhamid II, adored by the president, who was chosen as protector.
The operators wish to use the two months preceding the effective start-up at the beginning of January for a test. Initially, Turkish Airlines intends to head to three domestic destinations, as well as Azerbaijan and the northern part of Cyprus. The movement of the aircraft and vehicles should then take place within 45 hours. After that, Atatürk Airport must be closed and turned into a park – as Erdogan promised.
(APA / dpa)
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