Turkish Airlines expects new Istanbul airport to open in 2016

Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil said during CAPA's 'Airlines in Transition CEO Summit' last week that he expects the first phase of Istanbul's new airport to open in 2016. Mr Kotil says construction of the new airport is slated to start later this year on a greenfield site. The new airport is being designed to handle up to 150 million passengers p/a. Mr Kotil says the Government is willing to invest in the new airport, which will replace Turkish's congested hub at Istanbul Ataturk Airport, because the benefit to Turkey's overall economy benefit clearly outweighs the cost. "Investment of the airport is very tiny compared to the benefit," he says.