On 29th October 2018 the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in an inauguration ceremony for the Istanbul Airport stated these words in front of an audience of 5000 guests, “this airport, the largest in the world, shall be known as Istanbul Airport”. The opening ceremony for the airport was conducted on the Turkish National Day which is also the 95th anniversary for the Republic of Turkey since its founding. During the launch of this new mega global aviation hub, leaders from about 10 countries along with their 50 ministers and senior officers came. President Erdoğan, in his inauguration speech also commended the whole of Istanbul in becoming one of the major transfer hubs in the world. He also praised the fact that with this airport, nearly 225000 employment opportunities will open up and the single contribution from this airport will add in about 4.9 percent to the whole of Turkey’s GNP. Kadri Samsunlu, Chairman of the Executive Board and the CEO of İGA Airport Operation said to media that, “this airport is the newest of its kind to be created in 21t century. The airport comes with all the best available technologies to provide efficient passenger experience. This will represent the global aviation technology incubator in its own right”. According to officials, the official opening will be delayed until late of December until which the preparation and testing will be carried out. Turkish Airlines has planned the interim schedule of three domestic and two international services. After one year of transfer of the Turkish Airlines and many other airlines on the airport, it will be able to process about 90 million passengers annually which will later increase up to 200 million passengers annually of 350 global destinations. After the completion of all the phases of the Istanbul Airport, it will be a six-runway facility by 2025. Related Content Royal Saudi Air Force; Interesting Images of the Saudi F-15S Strike Eagle with DB-110 Tactical Reconnaissance Pod leaving for a mission Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport; Wreckage of old Airbus A300 catches fire   Share this content: