Turkish Airlines (THY) CEO Temel Kotil said on Monday that the third airport in İstanbul will be the world’s biggest, which is no surprise due to Turkey’s place globally.
“It is normal to expect such an airport to be in Turkey as the world’s axis is shifting towards the East and the country is located at the juncture of different cultures,” Kotil said.
Noting that Turkey connects the East and the West, he said, “If we bring travellers to Turkey and have them fly from here to their next location, people would reach their final destinations three hours earlier than other airport hubs in Frankfurt, Paris and Dubai.”
He further said: “We have to think about our future and envision our plans with the third airport, which will have a capacity of 150 million passenger capacities. We set up a vision for the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic. We have $24 billion in revenues and more than 450 planes. We also opened up a school for pilot training and continually hire foreign pilots. We have to do it in order to remain competitive in the market and be globally appealing.”
Furthermore, he indicated that the world aviation sector grows by 4.7 percent annually, but the sector grew by 20 percent in Turkey in the past year. He added, “Foreign competitors got used to our exceeding expansion in the past 10 years and hope they will be okay with it in the next 10 years as well.”
During his speech at a conference in Karabük, he also expressed that THY would be flying to Karabük. It will make sure that the town of Safranbolu, which is protected under the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), would be advertised to attract more tourists.
Source Zaman
