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Istanbul Airport, Turkey's largest infrastructure project with an investment cost of $30 billion, has turned a golden page in the Turkish aviation history with the aim of making the country's largest metropolis a global aviation hub, reports Daily Sabah.
From an aviation perspective, Istanbul Airport, which opened its doors to travelers on the 95th anniversary of the Turkish Republic, is unprecedented in terms of passenger capacity. It is expected to serve 200 million passengers annually by 2028 when all the facilities of the project are completed.
One of the most highlighted points when talking about Turkey's ambition to become an aviation hub is the country's strategic location connecting more than 60 countries. 66 per cent of world air traffic passes over Istanbul and there are 41 countries and 78 cities (excluding Turkish cities) in a three-hour radius to Turkey, 53 countries and 118 cities in a four-hour flight radius and 66 countries and 143 cities in a five-hour flight radius with a total economic size exceeding $20 trillion.
According to a report prepared by IGA, the five-company consortium that built the Istanbul Airport, it will be possible to reach more than 300 destinations from the airport with 250 international destinations.
The promising and continuously growing aviation industry in Turkey has made the country a potential candidate to accomplish its ambitious goal to claim the title of an aviation hub. The sector has recorded a 14 per cent compound annual growth from 2002 to 2014.
The development of the aviation sector is evident in the growing number of destinations, passengers, airports and planes.
While Turkey had only 162 planes in 2003, the number rose by more than 300 per cent and reached 517 last year.
Back in 2003, a total of 26 airports across Turkey were operational and with the opening of Istanbul Airport, the number of airports jumped to 56 over the last 15 years.