Turkey’s main international airport in Istanbul is closing and relocating to a new base in a massive logistical operation.
The relocation of Ataturk International Airport to Istanbul Airport on the Black Sea shores— dubbed the “Great Move”_began early Friday and is expected to end Saturday.
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Bilal Eksi, CEO of flagship carrier Turkish Airlines, said 686 semi-trailer trucks and hundreds of other vehicles are moving equipment at night, and planes have started flying to the new airport.
The Istanbul Airport, one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s signature projects, opened partially in October and will serve 90 million passengers annually. It seeks to be the world’s biggest when fully completed in 10 years.
Ataturk Airport, ranked the 17th busiest in the world in 2018, will cease commercial operations at 02:00 am local on Saturday (2300 GMT Friday).
