Third Antalya Airport set to open in 2022

As one of the leading holiday destinations in the world, Turkey has found that it needs to keep busy to ensure that the country can keep increasing the tourist potential. The city Antalya has been particularly in demand in terms of visitors and these people are coming not just from the Middle East but also from countries including Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia with Antalya property some of the most sought after in the country. 

Due to the increase, the countries management are already pursuing various projects in order to provide improved travel for those staying in Turkey, plus a number of new places for visitors to stay. The most prominent project being worked on is the third airport in West Antalya, which is planned to be completed by 2022.

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Vice President Fuat Oktay has confirmed that the government are planning for the new airport to complement Gazipasa and Antalya airports. The Vice President also confirmed that the new airport would be taking part in the lead ceremony of, “Low Level Wind Breaking Warning System” to add to the flight safety.

Antalya Tourist Numbers

Vice President Fuat Oktay confirmed that Antalya airport has welcomed huge numbers of passengers. In 2003 the airport had a footfall of 10,371,000 and reached a massive 31,566,000 last year. Tourist numbers also increased in 2018 to 12.4 million. It is due to these enormous increases in traffic that the decision was made to begin construction on the project that will be called the West Antalya Airport. The airport will open its doors to passengers and offer the same excellent service that visitors currently enjoy at the other airports.

Turkey Flight Statistics

Fuat Oktay confirmed that the country provides the most flights to international destinations. Through the period of AK party government, Turkey has increased their international flights abroad from 60 to 316. In this regard Turkey is considered number one in the entire world. In just 16 years the country has increased the overall number of airports in Turkey by 34, taking it from 22 – 56. In 2002, the number of aircraft Turkey boasted was 150 and currently this now stands at a fleet of over 500. Plus, when it comes to the turnover, Turkish aviation sector has risen from 2.2 billion dollars to 25 billion dollars annually.

Why open the new airport in Antalya?

As Turkey's premier destination for tourists and a thriving city itself, Antalya simply needs help to satisfy the capacity and demand for tourists. For this reason,  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the announcement that the construction of the third airport for Antalya is under way with an expected completion date in 2022.

The new airport will be built in the western area of Antalya in close proximity of the city of Kas. According to the authorities, the new airport will have the capacity to serve an additional five million tourists per year, aiming to help Antalya Airport and Gazipasa Airport cope with the current number of tourists visiting the country.

Turkish President Erdogan explained that it is expected that tourist numbers will increase further in 2019 and that Turkey will smash the record numbers of tourists in 2018 with the most tourists likely to be from Russia. The president also confirmed that the negotiations are still ongoing to make the new airport visa free, and this is expected to cut down on congestion in the airport so that there will be more capacity to welcome even more tourists.