iGA Istanbul Airport has inaugurated its fourth main runway, constructed as part of its Phase 2 investment plan, at a ceremony attended by Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu on September 18.
Completed with an investment of €890m (US$1bn), the new runway is iGA Istanbul Airport’s first to run along an east-west axis. It is expected to reduce airborne holding and taxi times, particularly for domestic flights and eastbound routes, resulting in fuel and time savings, including during adverse weather conditions.
The concrete runway is 2,820m long and 45m wide. It brings the total number of runways at the airport to six: four main and two auxiliary. The other five runways are aligned along the north-south axis.
The runway is the first investment to be completed under iGA Istanbul Airport’s Phase 2 expansion plan. It follows the introduction of triple independent parallel runway operations in April 2025, which the airport described as the first implementation of its kind in Europe.
According to iGA, adding the fourth main runway to the system will increase the airport’s operational capacity, efficiency and flexibility.
Speaking at the inauguration, iGA chairman of the board Cemal Kalyoncu said, “The fourth runway is an important milestone in a landmark project that is turning Türkiye’s global aspirations into a reality. Istanbul Airport is the realization of the great vision that our esteemed President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has set out for Türkiye. We’ve worked with all our efforts to achieve the goal of establishing a leading global transfer hub in Istanbul.”
The runway was inaugurated alongside Florentia Village, a luxury designer outlet project completed with an investment of approximately €180m (US$206m) through a partnership between Kalyon Construction and Italy’s RDM-Fingen Group.
The airport has also recently opened the 485-room Hilton Istanbul Airport and the Jetex-İGA Terminal for private aviation passengers.
In related news, Heathrow expansion projected to generate over 108,000 jobs across UK
