Istanbul Airport opens 4th main runway to boost capacity, reduce flight durations

IGA Istanbul Airport is set to commission its fourth main runway, oriented along an east-west axis, on Thursday, bringing the air hub’s total capacity to six landing strips, Türkiye's Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a recent statement.

Uraloglu stated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the opening ceremony of the newly constructed concrete runway, which is 2,820 meters (1.75 miles) long and 45 meters (147.6 feet) wide, marking the airport’s first east-west runway.

“The new runway will reduce taxi and turnaround times, particularly for domestic flights and eastbound routes, allowing the air hub to save on fuel and time, while enhancing its operational flexibility, even during adverse weather, and the on-time departure rate of flights,” he said.

The new east-west runway’s close proximity to existing hangar facilities will allow general aviation operations to proceed more quickly and independent of standard commercial traffic, the minister noted.