Atatürk Airport or formerly Yeşilköy Airport was the international airport located on the European Side of Istanbul. Yeşilköy Airport, where the first air transportation was started in Turkey in the early 1900s, was opened to international air traffic in 1953. On July 29, 1985, the surname of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, was given to the airport by the then President Kenan Evren.
According to 2015 data, it is the airport with the busiest traffic in Turkey and the 11th busiest passenger traffic in the world. The airport, which is used by an average of 1100 aircraft per day, is among the most important transit passenger airports in Europe. The number of planes landing and taking off from the airport broke the all-time record with 4 (an airplane landing or taking off every 2016 seconds) on September 1453, 59,46. The record for air traffic per runway per hour is held at London Gatwick Airport with 55 aircraft. This number is 30 at Atatürk airport. Atatürk Airport, which hosted 2015 passengers, 61.332.124 aircraft and 464.774 tons of cargo traffic in 790.744, was the busiest airport in the country. It was closed to civil flights as of 7 April 2019 and cargo flights as of 5 February 2022, and these flights were transferred to Istanbul Airport.
Why is Ataturk Airport being demolished?
Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum, on the other hand, stated in his social media account that they will continue to work "non-stop, tirelessly" and to make Turkey green in line with the "Green Development Revolution", one of the most ambitious goals of the 2053 vision.
Underlining that the people's garden will add strength to the fight against the negative effects of climate change, the Institution stated that the garden will be the most central disaster assembly area in Istanbul.
The institution emphasized that the nation's garden, which will be one of the largest green spaces in the world when completed, will turn into a green corridor of 132 million 500 thousand square meters in the center of Istanbul with its 5 thousand 61 trees and will give Istanbul a breath of fresh air.
Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, who said that the Atatürk Airport area "will not be built in any way", said, "No housing project will be built. At this point, there is no question of selling this area to the Qataris. The opposition is doing its part in bringing every issue to the Qataris. We will present a landscape project to our nation,” he said.
Residential
Geographical coordinates of Istanbul Atatürk Airport are 40°58'34″N, 28°48'50″E. Located within the borders of Bakırköy, one of the largest districts of Istanbul, and Yeşilköy district, whose center is by the sea, the airport is bordered by the Marmara Sea in the south and the D-100 Highway in the north.
early 1900s
The first aviation initiatives in Turkey started in 1911-12 with two hangars and a small square built near the land that is today Atatürk Airport. Its primary use is military; Minister of War Mahmud Şevket Pasha wanted to create a facility for aircraft to be used in the army.
1920-30s
After the proclamation of the Republic, the first steps of civil aviation began to be taken with the Turkish Aircraft Society, which was established in 1925. The facility in Yeşilköy was used for military purposes until 1933, and on this date, civilian flights started with two King Bird model planes purchased from the USA. While a hangar and the adjacent masonry building were reserved for civil flights, a waiting room and ticket office were installed on the upper floor of the building, creating a terminal. In February 1933, the first protocol passengers made the Istanbul-Ankara flight. At that time, when refueling was required, planes landed in Eskişehir and then continued to Ankara. A field next to Gazi Education Institute in Ankara was used as a runway. Again in 1933, a fleet of five planes began to operate under the name of Turkish Air Mail.
1940-50s
After Turkey signed the 1944 Chicago Civil Aviation Convention, it was decided to internationalize Yeşilköy Airport. In 1947, the airport project was prepared and the American Westinghouse-IG White companies started construction in 1949 with the authorization of the Ministry of Public Works. Covering an area of 10 thousand square meters, these airport facilities consisted of a terminal building serving both domestic and international flights, a 2300-meter-long runway, a hangar and service structures. The airport also had a radio transceiver and a separate power plant. The project was completed in 1953 and put into service on 1 August of the same year.
1960-70s
Rapidly increasing international passenger traffic and technological developments -especially the spread of wide-body aircraft- revealed the need for expansion and renewal of Yeşilköy Airport. In 1961, studies emerged to meet this need, and in 1968 the construction of a second runway suitable for wide-body aircraft began. Runway 3/45, which is 17 meters long and 35 meters wide, was opened on 12 November 1972 as a result of delays.
It was stated that since the new runway does not have a lighting system, it can only be used during daylight hours, and the two runways will provide a total capacity of 55 aircraft per hour. In those days, 150-200 planes landed and departed from the airport daily, and the number reached an average of 250 on busy days.
In terms of terminal and air traffic control, problems continued to increase. Istanbul Governor Vefa Poyraz, who inspected the airport in October 1970, told reporters that she "found the situation extremely miserable". A master plan for the development of the airport was drawn up in 1971. Prepared by Architect Hayati Tabanlıoğlu, the project includes four terminals, each with a capacity of 5 million passengers, as well as THY Hangar Facilities, Cargo Facilities, Air Traffic Control Tower and Technical Block, Lighting System, Electricity Distribution System, reconstruction of the old 05/23 runway, fuel supply facilities. covered other facilities. The terminal units, one of which will consist of three floors and a mezzanine, with a parking lot for 1500 cars, were planned to be completed in 1975.
Work has started for a new transit lounge to meet the traffic created by the increasing number of charter flights, especially with the migration of workers to Germany and the increasing number of tourists. The hall, which was opened in May 1974 with a one-year delay, was closed and renovated three months later due to ventilation problems. The 12-square-meter charter terminal with eight passports and 3 customs inspection counters was put into service in July 1974. In September of the same year, a prayer place was created by the order of the Minister of Transport, Hasan Ferda Güley, again to meet the demand of the workers who went to Germany. A breastfeeding lounge is also at the service of passengers in the terminal.
1980-90s
Although Hayati Tabanlıoğlu's project was not fully realized, the new international terminal built within the scope of the project was put into service in 1983. On July 29, 1985, the name of the airport was changed by President Kenan Evren and became Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Towards the end of the 1980s, work intensified again to increase the capacity of the airport and in 1988, a tender was made with the build-operate-transfer model. Although the Alarko-Lockheed-John Laing consortium, which offered $205 million, won the tender, the project could not be realized due to frequently changing governments.
The cargo terminal was opened in 1993, and Terminal C was put into service in 1995 to meet the increased luggage trade and charter passenger traffic after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
On July 20, 17, the Tepe-Akfen-Vienna Airport consortium - later with the departure of Vienna - Tepe-Akfen-Ventures - won the BOT tender for DHMI's 1998 million capacity new terminal and parking lot to meet the increasing traffic.
2000s
Completing the construction in a shorter time than anticipated, TAV Airports opened the terminal on January 3, 2000. Afterwards, TAV Airports expanded its international terminal twice with the renewals made in the contract, increasing the total terminal area to 286.770 square meters. In this expansion, a new international terminal, passenger vehicle connecting bridges and passenger boarding bridges were rebuilt. All scheduled flights from Atatürk Airport on April 7, 2019 were transferred to Istanbul Airport. The operating rights of Atatürk Airport were held by TAV Airports until January 2021.
Current status
Atatürk Airport has CAT III qualifications according to the classification made by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and it is at a level that allows aircraft to take off and land even when the meteorological conditions are bad.
With a total area of 11 million 650 thousand square meters, Atatürk Airport is the largest airport in Turkey in terms of total building area, with a domestic terminal of 63 thousand 165 square meters and an international terminal of 282 thousand 770 square meters. It also has a 7 square meter VIP and CIP terminal. Since April 260, 7, commercial flights have been made from Istanbul Airport.
Domestic Terminal
The building, which was used as a former international terminal, was modernized after TAV Airports took over the operation. There are 12 bridges, 96 check-in counters, four baggage belts on the departures floor and a total of seven baggage belts on the arrivals floor.
On the departures floor of the star-shaped terminal, there are self-service and à la carte restaurants, as well as international coffee and fast-food chains. Catering points are operated by BTA. There are lounges of Garanti, Akbank and THY in the terminal. In addition, there is a small mosque and lost property offices on the arrivals floor.
75% of all flights are operated by THY. Onur Air has 14% and Atlasglobal 8%.
There is a terrace area for smoking after security check.
International terminal
Constructed by TAV after the BOT tender in 1997 and put into service in 2000, the terminal was expanded twice in the intervening period and took its current form. THY's share in flights is 68%, and Lufthansa's is 27%.
There are 34 bridges, 224 check-in counters, 11 luggage belts on the arrivals floor. The terminal, which is in the shape of a long rectangle, has a currency exchange office, a pharmacy and a prayer room.
In addition to international coffee and fast-food chains, a wide range of food and beverages are offered at the terminal, with à la carte restaurants and cafes focusing on different national cuisines.
There is a smoking terrace area after passport control.
Duty free
Atatürk Airport, which has the 16th largest duty-free shops in the world, has a store area of 4 thousand 613 square meters, 1 thousand 437 square meters on the departure floor and 6 50 square meters on the arrivals floor. The stores are operated by ATU Duty-Free, which was established in partnership with TAV Airports and Unifree. The stores sell perfumes & cosmetics, liquor, cigarettes, tobacco, cigars, chocolate, sweets, coffee, tea, accessories and toys.
TAV Gallery Istanbul
There is an exhibition area between the G and H counters before passport control within the International Terminal. In the exhibition area, projects in photography, painting and similar fields meet with passengers throughout the year.
cargo terminal
With the entry into service of the international terminal, the existing Terminal C was converted into cargo due to the port's need for a cargo terminal and was strengthened against earthquakes and allocated to companies operating cargo services in 2002 to be used as a warehouse and warehouse.
General Aviation terminal
Located in the northwest of the airport, the terminal serves air taxis with private jets. Customs and passport procedures can be done at the terminal. In addition to business people, many famous artists use this terminal, which was put into service in 2006.
Airlines and destinations
The last cargo flight from Atatürk Airport took place on February 5, 2022. Subsequent commercial and cargo flights continue to operate from Istanbul Airport.
The administrative buildings of TAV Airports, which operates the airport, are located within the airport grounds. Access to the building located next to the VIP Terminal is provided via the road created from the outside, without using the airport main gate.
The offices of the Civil Administration and its affiliates, the state guesthouse where foreign diplomats, heads of state and government are hosted, the airport mosque, and the Gendarmerie Protection Company Command building are also located within the airport grounds.
After the 2019 Istanbul Earthquake, Bakırköy District Governor's Office and Bakırköy District Police Department moved their buildings to the Airport.
Due to the COVID-2020 pandemic in 19, Prof. Dr. Murat Dilmener Emergency Hospital was opened. Due to the opening of the hospital, 35L/R runways are out of use.
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