Plans for New Airport Boosts Istanbul’s 2020 Bid

Plans for a new international airport in Istanbul and a third bridge across the Bosphorus, have boosted Istanbul’s bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

The expansion will see the Turkish Airlines fleet grow from 203 aircraft to 375 by 2020, and an extension of their service network to more than 210 international destinations and 2,000 daily departures.

Pegasus Airlines, reportedly Europe’s fastest growing airline in 2011, announced this week that it had made a $12 billion order of up to 100 Airbus passenger jets, the single largest aircraft deal in Turkish aviation history.

Airbus’ Executive Vice President Christopher Buckley said this week: “Turkey is rapidly developing into Europe’s most dynamic commercial aviation market”, and the national government has recently concluded the tender process for a huge third airport in Istanbul to support the growth. The third airport will feature six runways and accommodate an estimated annual capacity of up to 150 million passengers by 2020, making it the largest in the world.

Hasan Arat, head of Istanbul 2020 said: “This huge level of investment from the public and private sectors demonstrates the mood of optimism and ambition in Turkey right now. Istanbul is not just investing in infrastructure – it is investing in mobility. That means improving the experience of travelling to and around the city for its visitors, and making the city more liveable for its residents.

“Istanbul’s bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 is perfectly aligned with the city’s long-term development plan. The infrastructure innovations that will allow us to offer athletes average travel times from Village to venue of just 20 minutes will leave an invaluable legacy for the city and its people for generations”.