Turkish airport gets new billion dollar runway

• Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen International Airport inaugurated a second runway, solidifying its position in the Turkish aviation market.
• The airport aims to surpass passenger numbers of 25 million in 2021 and 31 million in 2022, with plans to welcome over 37 million travelers by the end of 2023.
• The airport's expansion plans since 2012 include a new runway to accommodate larger aircraft and double the previous capacity.

Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen International Airport recently inaugurated its second runway, further solidifying itself as a critical player in the Turkish aviation market. The airport, located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait, managed more than 181,000 flights in 2021, with 2022 adding another 27,000, reaching 208,000 just last year.

With a new runway, the airport looks to surpass recent passenger numbers of 25 million for 2021 and 31 million in 2022. Before the end of 2023, it anticipates the airport will welcome over 37 million travelers. The airport has plans to manage up to 85 million passengers a year. Aviation in Turkey is at an all-time high, placing the country third in Europe for total passenger numbers and sixth worldwide. Sadly, the airport did, however, miss Simple Flying's top ten busiest airports in 2023, according to data from Cirium.

Expansion plans since 2012

The Turkish government unveiled plans to invest $970 million into the airport's second runway development in 2012, given that the current runway had already reached its maximum capacity of up to 750 flights per day. With construction now completed, runway two will be able to accommodate the world's largest aircraft, such as the Airbus A380. Its length is 3,540 meters (11,614 ft), and its width is 60 meters (196 ft).

As reported by the Daily Sabah, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated improving airport infrastructure, noting the below of the government's commitment to SAW:

“Sabiha Gökçen Airport plays critical roles in terms of development in business and tourism. We have observed that the airport has been having difficulty meeting the increasing passenger and air traffic.”

For efficiency, the older runway is planned for aircraft departures, with the newer runway for arriving flights, with the airport hoping to double its current daily operations. Comprehensive airport improvement and modernization have been undertaken, which includes a middle apron that can accommodate up to 62 aircraft and a large cargo apron for up to 40 aircraft.

Built to support Atatürk

Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport was opened in 2001 to support the rapidly growing Atatürk International Airport, which has now been replaced by the new Istanbul Airport (IST) on the European side. SAW is a hub for AnadoluJet and Pegasus Airlines, serving over 120 destinations from the airport.

Other significant carriers also serve Sabiha Gökçen from their respective hubs, including Air Arabia (from Abu Dhabi, Casablanca, Sharjah, and Tangier), Azerbaijan Airlines (Baku), British Airways (London Heathrow), flydubai (Dubai International), Qatar Airways (Doha), Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca), among others.

As published by the Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, this November, Sabiha Gökçen served 16,242,923 domestic passengers and 17,676,767 international passengers, an increase of 26% compared with 2022. SAW currently places itself as the second busiest airport in the country, behind Istanbul Havalimanı Airport and ahead of Antalya Airport, a major European leisure destination.