Turkish Erdogan inaugurates "the largest airport in the world" in Istanbul

The ambitious and long-time Turkish leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inaugurated on Monday what his supporters have described as the world's largest airport, a vast complex of terminals and runways spread over a set of ancient coal mines on a lot bigger than New York. The island of Manhattan.

Erdogan dubbed the new facility at Istanbul Airport, ending months of speculation over his name, which included rumors that he would allow him to follow his name.

"Istanbul is not only our largest city," he said in front of a crowd of dignitaries, officials and journalists meeting under the vaulted ceiling of the airport terminal. "This is our most important brand.It is a magnificent jewel between two seas.It can be compared to the sun of this earth."

He pointed out that many doubted that the colossal airport could be built when it was first proposed. He stressed that the country had managed to do so despite major challenges related to the reference to several major terrorist attacks, the fallout from the war in Syria and a 2016 coup d'etat. .

"We have completed this project," he said, "and we are officially launching the first stage.We have not built the airport of Istanbul for our country.C & # 39; is an excellent service we offer to the regions and the world. "

The size of the airport corresponds to the great ambitions of Mr Erdogan, who is committed to making Turkey, a nation of 81 million inhabitants perched between Europe and Europe. Asia, a world power. "It's not just an airport. This is a monument to victory, "said a panel inside the facility during the opening ceremony.

The official inauguration of the airport, endowed with $ 11 billion, the most expensive public works project in the history of Turkey, coincided with the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Republic Turkish. But the airport will regularly operate only three domestic and two international lines until the end of the year. It is at this time that all aircraft and equipment from Istanbul Ataturk International Airport will be transferred to the new facilities. Some devices will be used by road and others taking the 15-minute route.

The main airport of Istanbul, inaugurated 65 years ago and rebuilt 21 years ago, owes its name to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of Turkey, secular republic inspired by the ashes of the Ottoman Empire. Once the new airport comes into service, it is planned to close it to commercial scheduled flights and possibly use it for private planes and pilot training. Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport, located on the Asian or Anatolian side of the city, will remain open.

Mr Erdogan, former mayor of Istanbul, presents himself as the master builder of Turkey. Under the reign of its Justice and Development Party (AKP), hundreds of glitzy shopping malls and apartment towers and prominent public works projects, including new universities, mosques, bridges, tunnels , hospitals and railway projects were built. Just one week earlier, Erdogan was on hand to usher in a major expansion of the Istanbul subway line.

But ecologists, town planners and economists have criticized the rush for development, saying that the country's ecology was hardly taken into account, that it led to hazardous urban sprawl and weighed heavily on the country.

While The opening of the new airport has been called a "day of pride" by the pro-government media. Opposition newspapers deplored Atatürk's blockade, the 15th busiest airport in the world.

"The biggest closure in the history of the Republic," said one big title in the left Birgun. Human Rights Watch, the New York-based rights group, has called for the release of dozens of union leaders and activists arrested at the airport last month to protest against tough salaries and working conditions. Airport officials said that out of 200,000 workers employed, 30 workers died at work during the 42-month-long construction of the airport, while union activists say 38 died.

"Behind the glass and steel of President Erdogan's latest mega-project, 30 construction workers and a union leader are in prison for protesting against poor working conditions," said Emma Sinclair-Webb, director of Human Rights Watch in Turkey, in a statement. "Jailed workers must be released, criminal investigations against them and many more must be dropped, and workers fired unjustly for protesting should return to their jobs."

Huseyin Kadri Samsunlu, CEO of the airport, told reporters Thursday that management was sensitive to workers' concerns and that improvements had already been made. "We are solving the problems they have raised," he said. "I am always open to peaceful requests, they have raised problems and I have listened."

Mr Samsunlu said the Turkish airlines were inviting this opening smoothly to identify any potential problem before Ataturk 's move started. It will be a massive logistic operation and can be documented by a National Geographic film team.

A subway line connecting the airport to the city, 20 km away, will begin operations in two years. In the meantime, buses will connect passengers to the terminal, located near the shores of the Black Sea, from 18 locations throughout the city. A new smartphone app will guide the city's passengers to the terminal.

The new airport is expected to eventually accommodate up to 200 million passengers a year, twice the size of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta. It was built by a consortium of five large, politically connected Turkish entrepreneurs – Limak, Kolin, Cengiz, Mapa and Kalyon – on a build-operate-transfer model that will allow builders to reap the benefits of facilities for the next 20 years paying to country $ 25 billion in rent. London-based Grimshaw Global led the terminal's design team, which includes skylights inspired by Ottoman mosques.

The first daily flight departing from the airport will begin on October 31 to Ankara, the Turkish capital, followed by daily flights to Izmir and Antalya, as well as to the Azerbaijani capital Baku and Ercan, capital of the Turkish Republic of Cyprus -North. . The launch of all operations was postponed until December 29th.

Her cheerleaders boast of her unconventional specifications, including a surveillance system of 22,000 cameras, a 53,000-square-meter duty-free resort described as the world's largest, a 42-kilometer baggage handling system, 225,000 employees and an area of ​​76 million square meters.

During the first phase, it is planned to support up to 90 million passengers per year, serving 350 destinations by more than 250 carriers, some of whom have been demanding access to Istanbul for years. Two more phases will bring capacity to 200 million passengers a year.

The airport will give new impetus to the country's flagship airline, Turkish Airlines, as it competes with Arabian Peninsula airlines such as Emirates, Qatar Airways and Ettihad, as well as European airlines for its dominance of Eurasia. On Monday, Turkish Airlines announced a code-share partnership with Hong Kong Airlines, expanding its reach in fast-growing Asian cities.

Istanbul – located nine hours from New York and Shanghai – can be conveniently located to serve as a hub. An economist noted that this accounted for 80% of the world's population in 11 hours of flight.

"With this airport, we want to bring the world closer and create a major hub at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and the Middle East," Samsunlu told reporters on Thursday. "Our challenge is to be the biggest and the best."