Turkish Airlines opens facilities in Istanbul Airport

By Gokhan Ergocun and Ugur Arslanhan</p> <p>ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkey's national flag carrier opened five operational facilities in Istanbul's new airport, the company announced on Tuesday.</p> <p>Maintenance, repair, cargo, cabin interior products, and unit load facilities were launched on 50,000-square-meter (some 538,000 square feet), Turkish Airlines said in a written statement.</p> <p>Some other facilities will be opened on 150,000-square-meter (some 1,614,000 square feet) before March, it added.</p> <p>Ilker Ayci, chairman of the board of directors and the executive committee, said that Istanbul Airport will be a milestone for the Turkish aviation sector.</p> <p>&quot;We built our facilities with a high capacity in the Istanbul Airport by planning next 25 years,&quot; Ayci stated.</p> <p>Transport and Infrastructure Minister Cahit Turhan said that the number of passengers reached 210 million in Turkish aviation sector, with 205,000 employment.</p> <p>&quot;The most important player of this story is Turkish Airlines. It will continue to be successful,” he added.</p> <p>The Istanbul Airport, of which first phase was opened on Oct. 29, has an annual capacity of 90 million passengers.</p> <p>The annual capacity will rise to around 150-200 million passengers after the competition of its second phase by 2028.</p> <p>With the second phase of the airport, Turkish Airline will have a huge campus — 700,000-square-meter.</p> <p>Turkish Airlines, founded in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, currently has 333 aircraft, including passenger and cargo planes, and flies to 306 destinations in 124 countries.

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