Alp Er Tunga Ersoy, the new CEO of Sabiha Gökçen Airport, held a press conference yesterday where he discussed their new targets. Evaluating current issues in aviation, Ersoy shared the reasons for the high prices of food at the airport:
“We pay rent to the government in foreign currency. Our tenants also pay us in foreign currency, so unfortunately, this cost is reflected in the prices. However, our prices are still the same as those at airports in Europe; they appear expensive due to the exchange rate difference. Nevertheless, we have installed vending machines selling water, biscuits, and cakes at more affordable prices to increase our passengers’ access to basic food.”
In the meeting, Ersoy stated that the newly opened second runway was currently not used at night but that the issues would be resolved once it was opened for night flights soon. He also mentioned that flight disruptions caused by strikes from tower personnel had been resolved:
“We cannot intervene in the towers, but the work slowdown strike there has ended. We have spoken with AJet and Pegasus to ensure that baggage issues do not recur.”
Reminding that they have been operating in a 14-year-old building, Ersoy said that they were carrying out renovation work with an investment of 35 million Euros in response to complaints from passengers.
