ANKARA

Istanbul Airport will open its third runway on Sunday to raise the capacity of landing and departure, the Turkish Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu told Anadolu Agency.

“The landing capacity will rise by 50% and taxi times will also drop by half after the opening of the new runway, “he said.

The airport, whose first phase was opened officially in October 2018, is one of the most important and largest airports in the world with around 100 million annual passenger capacity.

The airport is projected to serve 200 million passengers annually with full capacity after the completion of all four phases with six runways by 2028.

Istanbul Airport has become a global hub with its strong infrastructure, unique architecture, and high-technology, the minister said.

"The construction of the third runway has been completed, it will be opened on June 14 with a ceremony that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend, “he added

The new runway will enable simultaneous-landing-departing in the airport, the minister informed. He also added that simultaneous-landing-departing on three runways is available in just a few airports globally.

After the opening of the new runway, the airport will have three independent runways and five operational runways, he underlined.

* Writing and contributions by Gokhan Ergocun from Istanbul