Turkey Eyes for 61 Airports by 2053

By Justin Mays:

Turkey is looking forward to increasing its airports from 57 to 61 by 2053.  This rise will enable the country to receive 200 million visitors annually.

The number of passengers using airports in Turkey is expected to rise to 202.8 million by 2053 from the current 112.4 million per year and this is going to be fueled by the investments that are underway.

Anadolu Agency reported that this Agenda to build more airports is called “Transportation 2053 Vision” and is part of the Transport and Logistics Master Plan. Cukurova, Yozgat, Rize-Artvin, and Bayburt-Gumushane airports are already under construction in order to reach the target. 

The black sea region has two airports being constructed with the second airport at 87% completion.  This project was started in 2017 by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and test flights are scheduled for April 2022.

Some of the developments include using biofuels, synthetic fuels, emission monitoring, reporting, and verification of infrastructure. A plan to control carbon emissions is set to be established.

Turkey has been named the focal point for passenger and freight traffic transportation for Western Asia, Europe, and Africa and from January to March, the percentage of transit jumped to 67%.

Europe’s busiest airport, Istanbul Airport received accolades in 2021 for being the best airport in Europe. The mentioned airport received 37 million passengers despite the pandemic according to the Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe). This airport took over operations from Ataturk Airport as the new hub for national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) in 2019.