Turkish Airlines moves to new Istanbul airport

The carrier’s entire operation was moved in less than half the 45-hour window allocated over the weekend.

The airline’s first flight from the new airport took off to capital Ankara on Saturday afternoon.

The new airport is scheduled to be the world’s largest.

Its initial capacity is set at 90 million, but its eventual completion in 2027 will enable it to handle 200 million passengers across six runways and with four terminals.

When completed, it will cover six times the area of Heathrow airport.

However, the new airport’s location, to the north of Istanbul on wetlands near the Black Sea, have led some to question how it will be affected by fog and strong winds.

In addition, 1.5 million trees were removed during construction.

Ataturk airport, which has long operated over capacity, will be developed for housing and parkland.

Istanbul’s other airport, Sabiha Gokcen, will remain open and continue to operate as a hub for budget brand Pegasus Airlines.