Istanbul New Airport opens and plans to serve up to 200 million travelers a year with six runways

The ceremony takes place today, on Republic Day, the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish Republic, with the attendance of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and more than 50 foreign leaders, ministers and high-level officials.

Istanbul New Airport, on the European side of the city, on shores of the Black Sea, will serve 90 million passengers annually in its first phase. On November 1st, two runways — 3,750 and 4,100 meters long — will go into service as a part of the first phase, with 5 daily flights.

At its completion in ten years, it will occupy nearly 19,000 acres and serve up to 200 million travelers a year with six runways. That's almost double the traffic at world's biggest airport currently, Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson.

During the first phase, the New Airport will have the IATA airport code ISL. On December 31 2018, all equipment from Atatürk Airport will be transferred by truck to the new airport. After the equipment transfer, Atatürk Airport will be closed to all scheduled passenger air traffic. Its IST IATA airport code will be inherited by Istanbul New Airport.

The world’s busiest airports

1. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (Georgia) — 104 million passengers

https://www.radarbox.com/airport/KATL

2. Beijing Capital International Airport (China) — 96 million

https://www.radarbox.com/airport/ZBAA

3. Dubai International Airport (United Arab Emirates) — 88 million

https://www.radarbox.com/airport/OMDB

4. Tokyo Haneda International Airport (Japan) — 85 million

https://www.radarbox.com/airport/RJTT

5. Los Angeles International Airport (California) — 84.6 million

https://www.radarbox.com/airport/KLAX

6. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (Illinois) — 80 million

7. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (Illinois) — 80 million
8. London Heathrow Airport (United Kingdom) — 78 million
9. Hong Kong International Airport (China) — 73 million
10. Shanghai Pudong International Airport (China) — 70 million
11. Aéroport de Paris-Charles de Gaulle (France) — 69 million
12. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (Netherlands) — 68.5 million
13. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (Texas) — 67 million
14. Guangzhou Bai Yun International Airport (China) — 66 million
15. Frankfurt Am Main Airport (Germany) — 64.5 million
16. Atatürk International Airport (Turkey) — 64 million
17. Indira Gandhi International Airport (India) — 63.5 million
18. Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (Indonesia) — 63 million
19. Singapore Changi Airport (Singapore) — 62.22 million
20. Incheon International Airport (South Korea) — 62.16 million
21. Denver International Airport (Colorado) — 61 million