Istanbul New Airport

New Istanbul Airport — general information

Turkey is known for its tourism as well as for its airlines, which take their place among the top 10 airlines of the world. These two factors actually have resulted into a significant increase of passenger traffic and cargo volumes through the airports of Istanbul in recent years and in fact forced the Turkish authorities to start building the third airport, referred to now as, Istanbul Yeni Havalimani, which in English is Istanbul New Airport. The construction of the new airport is split into 4 stages, each having an estimated budget of about €12 billion.

Being under construction at present it bears no name. In August 2018, 94 percent of the first stage constructing was finished and the first testing was done.

An inauguration ceremony is scheduled for Turkey’s National Day on October 29 in 2018.

The first flights are already planned and announced to depart from the New airport on October 31. Still, the transfer of all flight operations is postponed until December 2018, January 2019.

The new airport will have 4 terminals in its construction, occupying more than 14 sq.km. and able to accommodate 500 aircraft.

The new airport is supposed to become the largest airport worldwide, able to accept annually 150 million passengers. Besides, it will be upgradable to handle 50 million more people in case of necessity in the future.

Video — Meet New Istanbul airport

The new Istanbul international airport is actually 35 km outside the city to the north-west, lying at the 3 roads to Arnavutköy, Göktürk, and Çatalca intersection. It is located between Yenikoy and Akpınar residential areas on the Black Sea coast and occupies 7659 hectares near Lake Terkos.

The airport will also comprise 6 landing strips, 8 control towers, 3 technical houses, 16 taxiways, and tube lines, linking the terminals.

The airport is going to have rail, bus and underground connections to Istanbul.

How to get to the Istanbul New Airport

Car
The best and the most convenient way at present to get to the New Airport is by car. The journey takes up to 50 minutes from Istanbul city center.

When launched, the Airport will have all the traditional options of public transportation.

Buses
There presupposed 18 bus lines with about 150 vehicles providing “Luxury Transportation for the passengers with luggage” through Istanbul.

The largest Yenikapı-Sirkeci line of 50 kilometers long will be served by 23 buses leaving every 11 minutes.

The farthest line from Pendik will be most expensive. Besides, more than 650 commercial taxis and 38 İETT vehicles will provide transfer service to the travellers of the new Turkish airport.

Underground
The first tube line to the third Istanbul airport is scheduled to be opened in November 2019, it will connect M2 Seyrantepe station with airport underground stations of each of the terminals and have 9 stations in between.

By April 2022 one more line from Halkali with 5 intermediate stations will be finished.

Train
The train from Marmaray will run to the new airport on a regular basis.

Terminals at the New Airport of Istanbul

The third Istanbul airport will boast the largest indoor area of Terminal 1 with the unique architectural design. The airport aims to combine the state-of-the-art technology and the futuristic yet functional construction. The airport’s architecture is supposed to reflect the artistic richness of İstanbul’s historic structures.

The first Istanbul new airport terminal building already offers its passengers functionality and an aesthetic experience. It has vaulted ceilings with skylights, which provide natural daylight to the check-in, passport control, security, and shopping areas.

The entrance to the terminal building will be combined with a traffic forecourt integrating bus, rail, tube routes, and the Airport Central Car Park.

On completion, the Airport will possess 4 spacious terminals with comfortable walking distances and rail access between them, as well as 165 aircraft jet bridges.

Istanbul New Airport Luggage system

The baggage handling system installed in the new Airport is designed with the cutting edge technology, it is 42 kilometers long and able to handle 30,000 baggage items per hour. It has become possible due to the smart devices, able to sort and stock the luggage. The baggage storing capacity of the First Terminal is above 10 000 items.

Terminal 1 has already got 13 check-in islands, 28 carousels (10 domestic and 18 international), and 468 points where the travellers can hand in and check in their belongings. Besides, there are 48 baggage sorting carousels more in the airport capable of sorting out outgoing luggage based on flights.

The outbound baggage barcode details will be scanned and transmitted to the system by Optical Character Recognition technology and the Individual Carrier System will allow tracking all luggage processes until the final destination step by step.

The explosive detection systems devices will scan all the baggage before it is loaded onto the plains.

The Early Bag Storage system which is designed for the first time in Turkey will store the belongings of the early arriving passengers and automatically deliver it to the necessary carousels in the time due.

All the technologies, implemented at the New Airport of Istanbul will guarantee that the ground service companies will receive luggage in a timely, secure, and complete manner to deliver it to the corresponding flights.

Istanbul New Airport Facilities

All the services offered to the travellers from their very first step into the terminal building and until the boarding or from getting off the aircraft on Turkish land until leaving the airport, employ an uninterrupted, speedy, and solution-oriented cutting-edge technologies.

The Information Kiosks at all the essential points will provide a live support service 24/7 aiming to meet all the needs and inquires of the passengers.

Hotels

The Istanbul’s new airport is going to boast not only the largest terminal building in the world but the largest terminal hotel as well.

At present, it’s known that Yotel will offer 451 rooms to the passengers travelling through the Airport. The rooms of the Istanbul new airport hotel will be split between air-side and land-side. The stylish, compact capsules of the hotel are available for booking by the 4-hour period so that the travellers can stay in comfort for a night or have a rest in a private place during a relatively short transit stop.

Cabins inspired by airlines, in terms of design and technology are the key concept of Yotel.

The rooms of the hotel are compact, yet luxurious and really well-designed.

The passengers will have a choice of standard and premium sleeping cabin or premium twins.

All of them are full of sophisticated and space-efficient innovations:

Yotel of the new airport Istanbul will have a gym open 24/7, as well as restaurant, bar, and meeting room amenities.

Istanbul New Airport Duty-Free

Upon opening of the airport, the largest duty-free shopping mall complex will be opened as well. It will comprise luxury stores and bazaar concepts.

The space of 53 000 sq.m. will be divided into 6 sections of luxury boutiques, bazaar zone, information areas, duty-free stores, activity and tasting stands, and shopping malls.

The shopping facilities were designed in accordance with all the modern trends in shopping and duty-free retailing activities.

Beverages and snacks

The New Airport will have about 32000 sq.m. food and beverage area. The most delicious and extensive varieties of Turkish and World cuisines are promised to be offered to the Airport’s guests.

Private passenger services

A number of privileged services will be offered to the travellers at the New Istanbul Turkey Airport:

To use the services, everyone who needs them may apply for the ones through the airport’s official site, mobile app, call center or terminal sales point.

There are the options of fast track and top priority passport checkpoints for quick and comfortable journey start.

Car parking facilities and special discounts in the food-and-beverage and duty-free areas are also offered on an individual basis to frequent flyers, elders, and families.

Parking in the airport

The biggest car park in the world combining hi-tech infrastructure and top service quality has the capacity of 40000 vehicles.

Car Maintenance, Car Park, and Valet services will service the travellers at the airport. Besides, the car owners will be able to order refueling, car wash, mini maintenance, tire replacement, and auto detailing. The following privileged services will be offered to the guests of Istanbul New Airport:

Useful Information About Istanbul New Airport

Opened: 29 October 2018
Number of terminals: 4
Postcode: 7P6R+CW
Address: Arnavutköy 34283 Istanbul, Turkey
Airport contact number: +90 212 601 4100
IATA Istanbul airport code: IST (after Istanbul New Airport entry into service)
Owner: General Directorate of State Airports (DHMİ)
Operator: IGA (Istanbul Grand Airport) Havalimanı İşletmesi A.Ş.
Time Zone: UTC+03:00
Coordinates: 4115’40.0″N 2844’32.5″E
Location: 22 miles (35 km) North West of Istanbul
Website: http://www.igairport.com