Sabiha Gokcen Airport’s second runway opens tomorrow: Minister says “We have become a global aviation hub”

The second runway of Sabiha Gokcen Airport will be inaugurated tomorrow with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, who inspected the airport, stated that Turkey is a leader in its region and a global aviation center.

Minister Uraloglu, who will attend the opening ceremony tomorrow with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inspected the runway before the opening. In his statements, Uraloglu began by expressing condolences to the families and the country for the martyrs in the attack by traitors in the Pençe-Kilit operation in the North of Iraq, wishing swift recovery to the injured soldiers.

“TURKEY IS NOW ONE OF THE ‘COUNTRIES WITH THE WIDEST FLIGHT NETWORK'”

Stressing that they operated with the goal of reaching every point in the world, Uraloglu said, “We have transformed Turkey into one of the countries with the widest flight networks. Since 2002, we have increased our active airport count from 26 to 57 and our terminal capacity from 55 million passengers to 337 million. While flights were made to 60 points in 50 countries on international routes, we increased our flight network to 343 points in 130 countries by adding 283 new points. In addition, we increased our total aircraft count from 489 in 2002 to 1,813 today, with a 270% increase.”

“WE HAVE BECOME A LEADER IN THE REGION AND A ‘GLOBAL AVIATION CENTER'”

Uraloglu also emphasized that Turkey is a leader in aviation in the region and a global aviation center. He said, “Last year, in 2022, Turkey ranked 3rd among European countries and 6th in the world in total passenger traffic at airports. In terms of passenger traffic in 2022, three of our airports were in the top 20 in Europe and the top 50 in the world. Our Istanbul Airport ranks 1st in Europe and 7th in the world.”

“WE WILL DOUBLE THE AIR TRAFFIC CAPACITY OF SABIHA GOKCEN AIRPORT”

Uraloglu stated that Sabiha Gokcen Airport needs a significant increase in capacity due to the increasing number of passengers and demand from citizens, and they have started work in this regard. He said, “In 2021, Sabiha Gokcen, which served approximately 25 million passengers with about 181,000 flight traffic on domestic and international routes, will reach about 31 million passengers in 2022. There will be a 21% increase in the number of passengers compared to last year.”

“WE WILL USE THE NEW RUNWAY FOR LANDINGS AND THE OLD RUNWAY FOR TAKEOFFS”

Pointing out that today Sabiha Gokcen Airport is the third busiest airport in Turkey after Istanbul Airport and Antalya Airport, Uraloglu said, “With the second runway we will open, we expect this number to increase significantly in the coming years. We will use the new runway for landings and the old runway for takeoffs, as it will be the most efficient use of air traffic and provide maximum capacity. This way, we will double the air traffic capacity of Sabiha Gokcen Airport.”

“WITH THE SECOND RUNWAY, EVEN THE WIDEST-BODIED AIRCRAFT CAN LAND AT SABIHA GOKCEN”

Uraloglu explained the work carried out at Sabiha Gokcen Airport, stating, “Together with the infrastructure, we have also renewed all superstructure facilities, such as the air traffic control tower, technical block, customs, fire brigade, and garage building, with the latest technology of the time. Our 91-meter-high Air Traffic Control Tower has been providing service to air traffic operations 24/7 with all air traffic systems since January 9, 2023.”

“We built a second runway with a width of 60 meters and a length of 3,540 meters, allowing even the widest-bodied aircraft to land at our airport. In addition, as part of the project, we have implemented 3 parallel taxiways with lengths of 3,520 meters, 3,000 meters, and 2,400 meters, a middle apron of approximately 650,000 square meters with a capacity for 62 aircraft, and a cargo apron of approximately 300,000 square meters with a capacity for 40 aircraft.”

“FIRST, THE RUNWAY WAS BUILT, THEN A NEW TERMINAL BUILDING WILL BE BUILT”

Uraloglu mentioned that they built the second runway 540 meters longer than the existing runway, stating, “To ensure that the runway can cross the TEM Highway and the D100 Connection Road, and to facilitate the construction of the New Terminal Building, which will increase the passenger capacity of Sabiha Gokcen Airport, we also built a TEM Connection tunnel with a length of 1,520 meters and double tubes to ensure the flow of traffic in both directions.”