Hello there,
I thought there might be some people out there wondering what's happening lately at the 3rd Istanbul airport.

Here are some pictures from airporthaber.com with Turkish text. Some highlights from the Minister of Transportation's visit:

-Last 15 years, no of airports in Turkey went from 26 to 55, pax no's from 34.5M to 180M.
-Planned opening less than a year later; Oct29th, 2018 with 90M pax capacity annually.
-As of now 73% completed, 30,000 working on the project.
-Baggage handling conveyor topping 42km

On the other hand; still need to connect it to the city with a metro-line of 37km, not sure when this will be ready. Expressways will be ready though.
Most Turkish a.net members think even the ceremonial opening will be next year, we might have to wait another year or two for the real thing.
I have personally been near the site and flew over it many times; it is like a beehive. Looks like a huge mine, thousands of trucks.
It is too far away from the city center. If in the future TK starts a JFK-SAW flight, I would probably never use this new airport

http://www.airporthaber.com/havacilik-h ... ninda.html

That is fantastic! The current airport is crap compared to that!

I flew over it a few days ago and doesn't look ready at all; perhaps the main terminal looks ready but runways and taxiways are not from what I could see.

Looking forward very much for it to open!

The777Man

Are TK going to have a split operation with the current IST and this new airport or do they intend on moving the majority of their existing flights to the new airport?

Current IST will be closed. All pax/cargo traffic will move to the new airport once it is fully operational. I do not know of a concrete plan for the current IST, probably will be developed into a business/convention center.

TK needs to move all flights because business model is based on hub and connecting passanger model

I can see that tower getting serious stick and no doubt a rude nickname.

Looks like it's coming on very well. Lots of work done.

How is the runway construction coming along?

It's amazing how fast this project has moved. Didn't they only start construction like two years ago? The sad part is that as far as I know, this will have gone from conception to opening in the time that BER was technically completed awaiting opening. Ouch.

Anyway, it looks like they've done a great job. It should give the ME3 a run for their money. A new airport like this should be about as efficient as it gets, and they've moved this along much faster than DWC. EK will be hampered on development until DWC is more fully complete, whereas TK will have a lot of room to work with on expansion.

The more often I have been in IST the last 12 months, the more I started to hat that airport. By far the worst mega airport in Europe, even worse than CDG. The new airport is overdue for years, so good to see they are progressing quite well. I hope I will never have to set a foot into current IST again.

i can’t wait to see the new TK lounge.

atcsundevil wrote:

It's amazing how fast this project has moved. Didn't they only start construction like two years ago? The sad part is that as far as I know, this will have gone from conception to opening in the time that BER was technically completed awaiting opening. Ouch.

Indeed. When BER was supposed to open, design had to start on this one . . .

However, to be fair. I do wonder how this Istanbul airport would rate against German building code, especially with respect to fire suppression and smoke evacuation. That's something that is invisible to the observer, and easily overlooked when making comparison statements as we did. Don’t forget that German (airport) building codes were significantly improved only after the Dusseldorf Airport Fire.

SamYeager2016 wrote:

I can see that tower getting serious stick and no doubt a rude nickname.

It is an honor to be the first to comment: Its shape and posture look like E.T. It also reminds me of those covers of Isaac Asimov's novels. What do they mean? That it is so space-age like a base on the Moon? "The future is now"? So let me christen it: "I,Robot" or, "E.T.Tower"!

What posted in Reply 7 is not the winning tower design.

Here is the winning design



More renderings

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2016 ... tulip.html

The design also won the 2016 International Architecture Award.

Very good designs indeed,Wow,but have you noticed they have a futuristic element that goes back to the sixties?

TK787 wrote:

On the other hand; still need to connect it to the city with a metro-line of 37km, not sure when this will be ready. Express-ways will be ready though.
...
It is too far away from the city center. If in the future TK starts a JFK-SAW flight, I would probably never use this new airport

If it opens without a link to the city, that could mean great airport for TK hub connections but a disaster about to happen for IST O/D.
Could IST remain open as a much smaller airport (like LCY) with very high-yield (TK and others) IST P2P routes?
IMHO, sooner than later, specially after the new airport opens, TK SAW-EWR (EWR is an Star Alliance hub) will happen. New TK SAW routes to Star Alliance hubs might be expected too.

mercure1 wrote:

What posted in Reply 7 is not the winning tower design.

Here is the winning design



More renderings

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2016 ... tulip.html

The design also won the 2016 International Architecture Award.

THANK GOD. That other tower is the ugliest thing I've ever seen.

The winning tower design rendering also shows at least two Turkish Airlines A380’s...

I'm really excited for this airport and would love to transit through it. The current God forsaken airport is a smelly, crowded pit. Love the pictures of the progress and of the control tower. Will be very interested to see if they indeed do complete it by next October as scheduled (or at least this initial phase).

How many runways will be available on opening day? How long will the runways be?

Amazing progress - and a beautiful building, such progress so fast! I do have to wonder if any environmental considerations were taken. Excited to see the new IST open, and the new MCT terminal too!

I can’t but be jealous; even with a new airport in Sydney, we’ll never have such beautiful or practical airports in AU!

What's the little robot all about in the article?

The terminal seems to be going up at a fast pace. Looking at Google Earth and some more recent aerial imagery on other sites, it looks like only one runway is under construction. Didn't the plans for the first phase include 2-3 runways?

Will SAW remain open?

ahj2000 wrote:

Will SAW remain open?

Yes, with a new, expanded domestic terminal about to be added.

jsnww81 wrote:

Looking at Google Earth and some more recent aerial imagery on other sites, it looks like only one runway is under construction. Didn't the plans for the first phase include 2-3 runways?

One runway is complete, second is in work. EASA certification flight checks scheduled to commence in February-March.

Breakdown of planned project:

Phase 1a - 2018


Phase 1b with 3rd runway - 2019


Phase 2


Phase 3 - 2022


Phase 4 - 2028


=

What capacity will phase 1a really offer? It looks more to the scale of BKK, whose first phase was designed for 45MAP, although it operates around 55MAP.

mercure1 wrote:

What posted in Reply 7 is not the winning tower design.

Here is the winning design

Well that certainly looks far better. Despite the fact that the linked article says it was inspired by a tulip I have to say that my first thought when looking at that rendering was to think of a snake.

The777Man wrote:

I flew over it a few days ago and doesn't look ready at all; perhaps the main terminal looks ready but runways and taxiways are not from what I could see.

Looking forward very much for it to open!

The777Man

That looks like more than a year away. Are the taxiways really still dirt? The runways and taxiways need 2 to 3 months to season before the concrete is ready for heavier aircraft loading. I do not even see the required rebar laid down... So I think an opening in October of 2018 is... sporty. I'm sad to see this as Europe/Turkey really needs more hub capacity.

aldrigsomandre wrote:

ahj2000 wrote:

Will SAW remain open?

Yes, with a new, expanded domestic terminal about to be added.

SAW will grow and thrive. It will get a 2nd runway, but I cannot help but notice that the when for that expansion is... elusive.

LAXintl wrote:

jsnww81 wrote:

Looking at Google Earth and some more recent aerial imagery on other sites, it looks like only one runway is under construction. Didn't the plans for the first phase include 2-3 runways?

One runway is complete, second is in work. EASA certification flight checks scheduled to commence in February-March.

Breakdown of planned project:

Phase 1a - 2018


Phase 1b with 3rd runway - 2019


Phase 2


Phase 3 - 2022


Phase 4 - 2028


=

Thanks for the summary. Quite a bit will wait for the 2020 expansion (Phase 1b). From some articles, Pegasus might not move over until then (true/not true?).

This will really only be a true replacement for IST with that 2002 expansion. Oh, have parallel (vs. crossed) runways will help immediately, but not dramatically.

Lightsaber

LAXintl wrote:

jsnww81 wrote:

Looking at Google Earth and some more recent aerial imagery on other sites, it looks like only one runway is under construction. Didn't the plans for the first phase include 2-3 runways?

One runway is complete, second is in work. EASA certification flight checks scheduled to commence in February-March.

Breakdown of planned project:

Phase 1a - 2018


Phase 1b with 3rd runway - 2019


Phase 2


Phase 3 - 2022


Phase 4 - 2028


=

Interesting graphics. Do you know what the reasoning is behind the single cross runway?

V/F

VirginFlyer wrote:

LAXintl wrote:

jsnww81 wrote:

Looking at Google Earth and some more recent aerial imagery on other sites, it looks like only one runway is under construction. Didn't the plans for the first phase include 2-3 runways?

One runway is complete, second is in work. EASA certification flight checks scheduled to commence in February-March.

Breakdown of planned project:

Phase 1a - 2018


Phase 1b with 3rd runway - 2019


Phase 2


Phase 3 - 2022


Phase 4 - 2028


=

Interesting graphics. Do you know what the reasoning is behind the single cross runway?

V/F

My assumption is that modern jets will not require a cross wind runway with prevalent winds. Only turboprops will occasionally need a cross wind runway from what I read.

What this airport needs is parallel (not crossing) runways due to how impacted the current IST is.

Amazing growth for 15 years...


Lightsaber

VirginFlyer wrote:

LAXintl wrote:

jsnww81 wrote:

Looking at Google Earth and some more recent aerial imagery on other sites, it looks like only one runway is under construction. Didn't the plans for the first phase include 2-3 runways?

One runway is complete, second is in work. EASA certification flight checks scheduled to commence in February-March.

Breakdown of planned project:

Phase 1a - 2018


Phase 1b with 3rd runway - 2019


Phase 2


Phase 3 - 2022


Phase 4 - 2028


=

Interesting graphics. Do you know what the reasoning is behind the single cross runway?

V/F

the South-Eastern part of the terminal (lower right) is for domestic operations.
Istanbul geographically being on the top left corner of Turkey, this cross runway will mainly be used for domestic departures.

stylo777 wrote:

VirginFlyer wrote:

LAXintl wrote:

One runway is complete, second is in work. EASA certification flight checks scheduled to commence in February-March.

Breakdown of planned project:

Phase 1a - 2018


Phase 1b with 3rd runway - 2019


Phase 2


Phase 3 - 2022


Phase 4 - 2028


=

Interesting graphics. Do you know what the reasoning is behind the single cross runway?

V/F

the South-Eastern part of the terminal (lower right) is for domestic operations.
Istanbul geographically being on the top left corner of Turkey, this cross runway will mainly be used for domestic departures.

Arrival/departure runways are chosen using many variables, one of the most important being wind direction/speed. A consideration to the direction of flight is given, of course, but not as a primary consideration. If what you're saying is true, all flights going to Asia/ME would be using this single runway as well, which they won't be. I assume this single runway is for the rare instance that crosswinds on the other runways are strong enough to prevent some aircraft from safely landing. And indeed, the prevailing winds in Istanbul are from the North, or the South.

'902

5 parallel runways, well that's handy.
They seem to have the same QFU also (the top red line giving centerline spacing looks 180° straight to me).
How are they going to handled the runways designation ? And even if they use 2 different designaton (let's say rwy 36 and rwy 35), does it mean we'll have 36L, 36R, 35L, 35C, 35R ?

AirlineCritic wrote:

Wow! So many runways... Air Canada wouldn't know where to land!

Luckily the taxiway is easy for them to spot

This is good news. TK is such a great airline, but the experience of transferring at cramped IST is awful and almost ruins the experience. This looks great though. Props to the government/planners for getting it done so quickly. Just hope good ground transit comes through quickly as well.

Fantastic design thanks for sharing that.

Well this is a large airport. Looking great though!

Few things:
-IST is crowded. I know, I fly there a lot. JFK and IST are my home airports. IST passport controls, hallways, lounges, stores, runways... pretty much everywhere is crowded. If you go to Duty Free shopping, it feels like shopping on Black Friday. If you go to Starbucks, you won't find a place to sit. Remote parking and being bussed to the terminal is a given. If you show this to any business, they would love to have a piece of this business, so many potential customers under one roof.
On the other hand, I would have to take my hat off to IST. Few weeks ago I flew JFK-IST-PRG and I was worried about the transfer time. After exiting the plane, there were clearly marked lanes for "Transfer Pax/Gates" and "Exit, Baggage Claim". Within seconds I was inside the Terminal/Gates area, didn't have to go through security or anything. It was a breeze.
-SAW (Istanbul's second airport) is not going anywhere (26.2M pax first 10 months 2017). It is getting a second runway, new tower and a new terminal. Picture here:
http://www.airporthaber.com/havacilik-h ... hazir.html
SAW, now sitting in the middle of the city with full metro reach in 2020, whereas the new IST is far away from the city center.
SAW second runway to be opened in 2019.

The new airport looks great; I'm excited to connect there. I still have some questions and concerns though.

Will there be a railway system after the security to connect the main terminal to the east/LCC terminal?

IST has a lot of delays due to tarmac vehicle traffic as well. IST currently has almost double hardstands than gates. (71 hardstands versus 39 gates). Low number of bus gates from the main terminal and long drive to the aircraft contributes to long delays in IST. From plans, the main terminal will have around 75 gates. How does the gate/airbridge numbers of IGA compare to airports such as LHR, CDG, JFK?

Well mine doesn't look like that lol

As mentioned earlier on in the thread it's more reminiscent of the E.T. character.

TK787 wrote:

...
I have personally been near the site and flew over it many times; it is like a beehive. Looks like a huge mine, thousands of trucks..

Exactly, it looks like a beehive. Just found a video of one subcontractor doing the earthworks. There is also the Terminal to be seen and the Runways.

https://youtu.be/jzZnMQ-GwlU

Some more details
- Tender was in 2013 but land handover and official works began in 2015. In May 2015 was also ground breaking ceremony for the Terminal building.
- First runway is finished, second runway to be finished next year.
Third runway is still at stage of ground-leveling, there are to many mines/holes and hills (30m to 130m) to be levelled at 75m above see.
-Terminal capacity is said to have 90M, but easily can handle more. Terminal space is about 5x larger than current IST ( 1.3million sqm) and 3x more gates (appr. 110). Most gates are flexible, either 2 Narrowbodyies or 1 widebody. Additionally over 60 remote A/C stands.

If I understand it correctly, the robot seen in the first post is a kind of personal terminal guide??

Look forward to using the new airport. I expect it will be a great experience, and will provide THY lots of freedom to grow more.

I must say it seems only the Chinese rival the Turks in major infrastructure projects. The number of rapidly built major projects in Turkey over the last decade has been astounding.

The progress they have made to date is amazing! I think IST could blow the Gulf and their airlines out of the water: IST is better located geographically; a more diversified economy; an enormous city; in a large country; and is far and away a much more attractive tourist destination (food, people, culture, history...). My 2009 trip to Turkey was one of my favorite (and this coming from a Greek-American). But, I think this administration's slide into authoritarian rule including the erosion of the rule of law and the moving away from western ideals will significantly hamper the potential of IST, TK and the whole country. I hope I am wrong because the people of Turkey deserve better.

airbazar wrote:

lightsaber wrote:

[
Thanks for the summary. Quite a bit will wait for the 2020 expansion (Phase 1b). From some articles, Pegasus might not move over until then (true/not true?).
This will really only be a true replacement for IST with that 2002 expansion. Oh, have parallel (vs. crossed) runways will help immediately, but not dramatically.

Lightsaber

I've never been to IST but from what I hear, it's congested beyond believe, for both passengers and operations. Phase 1 here will have capacity for 90 million annual passengers, 88 gates, and 2 independent parallel runways which should nearly double its max hourly movements. That is already a huge improvement on the current IST, which only has about 40 gates and currently handles about 60 million passengers.

And IST had the worst organized check-in desks I have ever seen in an airport. The signage was really bad too.

United787 wrote:

The progress they have made to date is amazing! I think IST could blow the Gulf and their airlines out of the water: IST is better located geographically; a more diversified economy; an enormous city; in a large country; and is far and away a much more attractive tourist destination (food, people, culture, history...). My 2009 trip to Turkey was one of my favorite (and this coming from a Greek-American). But, I think this administration's slide into authoritarian rule including the erosion of the rule of law and the moving away from western ideals will significantly hamper the potential of IST, TK and the whole country. I hope I am wrong because the people of Turkey deserve better.

I am not very surprised that you enjoyed your trip to Turkey. It's reciprocal, Greeks feel comfortable in Turkey and Turks enjoy their holidays in Greece.
Jan-Sep 2017 over 430.000 Greeks visited Turkey and Greek officials expect about 1.3m Turkish tourists this year.

I understand your fears of Turkey to change to the negative, but it's overly exaggerated by western media/(propaganda).
I live in Germany and see what they write/say and what's reality. Same was done during the financial crisis in Greece.

Here is a video with IGA's CEO Yusuf Akcayoğlu.
He explains the secret of their success.
All works are done simultaneously, even the testing of finished parts.

Although 2 month old video (with English subtitles) quite interesting.
Meanwhile baggage sorter system (42km) finished and tested.

https://youtu.be/ut33xxbSG7Y

gzm wrote:

Very good designs indeed,Wow,but have you noticed they have a futuristic element that goes back to the sixties?

Hmmm... That is where they belong: in the 1960s!
A modern airport should not need a control tower that is high above the ground. Cameras can be distributed across the site in lighting towers and the control ROOM can have a much better view of the site through images.
In particular in a large site like this looking out the window of the tower will be nothing but useless.

I think it will be ready by the end of next year as they planned with the 2 runways!

Current IST will be closed. All pax/cargo traffic will move to the new airport once it is fully operational. I do not know of a concrete plan for the current IST, probably will be developed into a business/convention center.

IST is a massive metropolitan area. Even without the transfer traffic, there is huge O&D and growth potential. IGA will be far away. IMO IST should be maintained, albeit in a reduced version, perhaps à la LCY for high yield traffic. I am not a fan of split airports, but there are metropolitan areas (Paris, London, Istambul, Moscow, etc...) that are large enough to support and require them.

r2rho wrote:

Current IST will be closed. All pax/cargo traffic will move to the new airport once it is fully operational. I do not know of a concrete plan for the current IST, probably will be developed into a business/convention center.

IST is a massive metropolitan area. Even without the transfer traffic, there is huge O&D and growth potential. IGA will be far away. IMO IST should be maintained, albeit in a reduced version, perhaps à la LCY for high yield traffic. I am not a fan of split airports, but there are metropolitan areas (Paris, London, Istambul, Moscow, etc...) that are large enough to support and require them.

Istanbul will still have Sabiha Gökçen airport to the south east, which is further from the centre of the city than Ataturk, but closer than the new airport.

V/F