The first runway at the Istanbul New Airport (INA) is ready for take-offs and landings and a major milestone was reached with turning on the lights of the 3,750-m Runway 1 for the first time. INA is installing the world’s biggest and most sophisticated Airfield Ground Lighting (AGL), featuring 34,183 LED fixtures. Intelligent lighting makes the visual guiding process easier, improving situational awareness by switching lights on and off according to information shared by airfield surveillance and aircraft tracking systems. This allows for optimized aircraft routing to and from gates, a more efficient traffic flow, and an increase in safety. Some 80% of the initial phase of the INA, which is due to open on 29 October 2018 marking Turkey's 95th Republic Day, is now completed. “We are working day and night on this project that will put Turkey’s stamp on the history of aviation,” says Yusuf Akçayoğlu, CEO of İGA Airports Construction. “We have recently finished the baggage system, which constitutes our airport’s core. And now, Runway 1 is ready for take-off and landing – with all the equipment required and in compliance with the relevant global standards. We are looking forward to delivering Istanbul Airport in its entirety in October.” The airport will not start operating immediately on 29 October. The official opening ceremony will be held on that day and only the President and other VIP guests will fly to and from the airport. As 29 October is a Monday, airline companies, especially Turkish Airlines (THY), hoping to take advantage of the three-day holiday along with Saturday and Sunday, want to make the transition from Atatürk Airport to Istanbul New Airport on 30 and 31 October instead of 29 October. The State Airports Authority (DHMİ) has reached an agreement with airline companies and ground services to prevent any delays in terms of transfers in addition to the opening ceremony. All details of the transfer from Atatürk Airport to the new airport, which is expected to be completed in 48 hours, have been worked out. According to the plan, foreign airlines will not fly to Istanbul for two days (30 & 31 October). Aiming to make the transition easier by temporarily reducing air traffic, this arrangement will be announced to foreign airline companies that fly to Istanbul. The companies in question will cancel their flights to Istanbul and will not book tickets for the two days. Only private airline companies, such as Onur Air and AtlasGlobal, that use Atatürk Airport as a main hub will fly for the first 12 hours. Meanwhile, THY plans to not fly for at least the first 18 hours of the transition. THY, which will not sell tickets during this time, will schedule take offs from Atatürk Airport and landings at Istanbul New Airport. Ground Support Vehicles (GSE) will be transported to the new airport by road. At the end of the 48-hour transition, Istanbul New Airport will host 35 landings and 35 departures per hour. Atatürk Airport will allow flights with five landings and five departures per hour, including VIP and business flights. Some individual cargo aircraft will also continue to use Atatürk Airport for a while. Atatürk Airport's transfer to the new airport has been cleared in general terms in Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer (ORAT) meetings. Turkish Airlines (TK) and Munich Airport had signed a long-term consulting service contract under which Munich Airport will support the Turkish flag carrier and hub carrier of the current Istanbul-Atatürk Airport in preparing a smooth relocation of its operations to the Istanbul New Airport. Starting at 1 a.m. on Oct. 30, there will be intense road and air traffic from Yeşilköy to the Black Sea side of Istanbul on European side. #1072.10 * The IGA consortium of Turkish companies Cengiz, Kolin, Limak, Mapa, and Kalyon – won the contract to build the airport in 2013. Multiple local and international construction companies are involved with the four-phased project, and its stakeholders include Arcadis, which provided earthworks design services; Arup, which delivered the master plan and airfield planning; and Aecom U.K., which worked with Deltatürk on airside design for the project. Phase 1 of the project will feature a terminal spanning 102.2 hectares and serve 90 million passengers each year. Following the completion of all four phases – which includes the construction of six runways and eight ATC towers – Istanbul New Airport will boast an annual capacity of 200 million passengers. On completion, Istanbul New Airport will become the world’s new aviation hub with 350 destinations in passenger and cargo transport and serving an approximate 100 airlines. [#1070.OPS29] #1072.11