LEIPZIG, Germany
There are several transit options but Istanbul is the best one to bond Europe with Asia, Turkish Airlines’ President Temel Kotil told a transport conference on Wednesday.
Kotil said that there are is passenger demand from Asia to be distributed in Europe.
“If you want to bond Europe with Asia you are forced to choose a transit hub,” Kotil said, speaking on the annual summit of International Transport Forum in Leipzig, Germany.
"Istanbul is the best transit option as it shortens the distance and the plane uses less fuel, therefore it is more economic".
Kotil said that “Turkish Airlines needs Istanbul’s third airport but Asian passengers do more as they will save three touring hours".
Speaking about the third airport, Kotil said that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had mentioned in a television program that Istanbul Ataturk Airport will be transformed into a park.
“I am not the one to decide the future of this airport, but the new airport and the Ataturk Airport cannot operate at the same time because they are above the same space field,” he said. Following bidding for third airport, PM Erdogan said in an interview that he preferred Ataturk Airport to be minimized and the space turned into a park.
In the last 10 years, Turkey has experienced more than a 20 percent annual increase in both aircraft and passenger traffic.
In 2012, commercial aircraft traffic at Ataturk Airport increased 14.8 percent compared to 2011. Although the airport has been renovated number of times, it remained unable to meet the demand. The government in 2012 decided to build a third airport and the bidding process was completed last May.
Istanbul’s third airport is estimated to begin functioning in 2015 as the world’s largest airport. The facility will have a 100 million passenger annual capacity and will serve as a transit hub between Europe and Asia.
Kotil said that once the Istanbul’s third airport was ready, there will be no need for Ataturk Airport.
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