Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
Encyclopedia
Sabiha Gökçen International Airport is one of the international airport
s serving İstanbul
, Turkey
. The facility is named after Sabiha Gökçen
, the first female combat pilot
in the world. Located 35 km (21.7 mi) southeast of central İstanbul, it is on the Asian side of the bi-continental city. It was built because Atatürk International Airport
(on the European side) was not large enough to meet the booming passenger demands (both domestic and international). SAW's international terminal capacity was 3 million passengers per year and the domestic terminal capacity was 0.5 million passengers per year. In June 2007, Turkish conglomerate Limak, India's GMR Group
and Malaysia Airport Holding Berhad
(MAHB) consortium gained the contract for upgrading and maintaining the airport. In mid-2008, ground was broken to upgrade the international terminal to handle 25 million passengers annually.
The new terminal was inaugurated on 31 October 2009. In 2010, Sabiha Gökçen airport handled 11,129,472 passengers, a 71% increase compared to 2009. The airport is planning to host 25 million passengers by 2023. In September 2010, the airport was voted the World's Best Airport at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London
and received the award. The other awards received by the airport in 2010 were: Turkey’s Most Successful Tourism Investment 2010, the highly commended award from Routes Europe and the airport is honored with Airport Traffic Growth Award by Airline News & Network Analysis web site anna.aero.
The features of and the services at the new terminal of the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport and its outlying buildings include;
A four – storey car park with a capacity of about 4,718 vehicles + 72 bus (3.836 indoors and 882 + 72 bus outdoors).
A four– storey hotel with 128 rooms, adjacent to the terminal and with separate entrances at air and ground sides.
112 check – in, 24 online check – in counters
A VIP building & apron viewing CIP halls with business lounges
Multi Aircraft Ramp System (MARS), allowing simultaneous service to 8 aircraft with large fuselages (IATA code E) or 16 middle-sized fuselage aircraft (IATA code C).
400 sqm conference center
5,000 square-meters food court, for cafés and restaurants belonging the leading food & beverage brands
A Duty Free shopping area, with a ground of 4,500 square-meters; with shops at international standards.
and that city's wider metropolitan area through a number of transport corridors. The main airport complex is easily reachable by car from the E80 (Trans-European Motorway)
which passes through the Istanbul Metropolitan Area, and is served by the following public bus lines:
HAVAS Shuttle (non-stop services run daily at regular intervals between the airport and Istanbul):
In addition to this, the airport is located just 14km from the town of Pendik
's railway and sea-taxi stations. Moreover plans to extend the Istanbul LRT
to the airport as part of the ongoing Marmaray project are currently under consideration. Taxis are also a common means of transport at the airport and there is a large rental-car facility.
(*) Preliminary data.
Source: DHMI.gov.tr
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...
s serving İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The facility is named after Sabiha Gökçen
Sabiha Gökçen
Sabiha Gökçen was a Turkish aviatrix. First Turkish female combat pilot, aged 23. She was one of the eight adopted children of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.- Early life :...
, the first female combat pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
in the world. Located 35 km (21.7 mi) southeast of central İstanbul, it is on the Asian side of the bi-continental city. It was built because Atatürk International Airport
Atatürk International Airport
Atatürk International Airport is the major international airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Opened in 1924 and located in Yeşilköy, on the European side of the city, it is west of the city centre. In 1980, the airport was renamed to Atatürk International Airport in honor of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the...
(on the European side) was not large enough to meet the booming passenger demands (both domestic and international). SAW's international terminal capacity was 3 million passengers per year and the domestic terminal capacity was 0.5 million passengers per year. In June 2007, Turkish conglomerate Limak, India's GMR Group
GMR Group
GMR Group is a major infrastructure company in India which is headquartered in Bangalore. The company was founded in 1978 by Grandhi Mallikarjuna Rao The core business areas of the company include airports, energy and highways; apart from having presence in the agriculture and aviation sectors...
and Malaysia Airport Holding Berhad
Malaysia Airports
Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad is a Malaysian airport company that manages most of the airports in Malaysia. The firm was recently awarded the duty to manage airports in international destinations...
(MAHB) consortium gained the contract for upgrading and maintaining the airport. In mid-2008, ground was broken to upgrade the international terminal to handle 25 million passengers annually.
The new terminal was inaugurated on 31 October 2009. In 2010, Sabiha Gökçen airport handled 11,129,472 passengers, a 71% increase compared to 2009. The airport is planning to host 25 million passengers by 2023. In September 2010, the airport was voted the World's Best Airport at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and received the award. The other awards received by the airport in 2010 were: Turkey’s Most Successful Tourism Investment 2010, the highly commended award from Routes Europe and the airport is honored with Airport Traffic Growth Award by Airline News & Network Analysis web site anna.aero.
Terminals
The new terminal building of 25 million annual passenger capacity conducts domestic and international flights under one roof.The features of and the services at the new terminal of the Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport and its outlying buildings include;
A four – storey car park with a capacity of about 4,718 vehicles + 72 bus (3.836 indoors and 882 + 72 bus outdoors).
A four– storey hotel with 128 rooms, adjacent to the terminal and with separate entrances at air and ground sides.
112 check – in, 24 online check – in counters
A VIP building & apron viewing CIP halls with business lounges
Multi Aircraft Ramp System (MARS), allowing simultaneous service to 8 aircraft with large fuselages (IATA code E) or 16 middle-sized fuselage aircraft (IATA code C).
400 sqm conference center
5,000 square-meters food court, for cafés and restaurants belonging the leading food & beverage brands
A Duty Free shopping area, with a ground of 4,500 square-meters; with shops at international standards.
Ground transport
Sabiha Gökçen International is connected to the city of IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and that city's wider metropolitan area through a number of transport corridors. The main airport complex is easily reachable by car from the E80 (Trans-European Motorway)
European route E80
European route E 80, also known as Trans-European Motorway or TEM, is an A-Class West-East European route, extending from Lisbon, Portugal to Gürbulak, Turkey, on the border with Iran...
which passes through the Istanbul Metropolitan Area, and is served by the following public bus lines:
- E3 – Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport – 4.Levent (transfer for Istanbul MetroIstanbul MetroThe Istanbul Metro, or the M2, is a mass-transit underground railway network that serves the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 2000, it now includes 13 stations. The system currently consists of a single north-south line...
) - E9 – Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport – Bostancı
- E10 – Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport – Kurtköy – Kadıköy (transfer for Haydarpaşa StationHaydarpasa TerminalThe Haydarpaşa Terminal or Haydarpaşa Station is a major intercity rail station and transportation hub in Kadıköy, İstanbul. It is the busiest rail terminal in Turkey and the Middle East and one of the busiest in Eastern Europe. The terminal also has connections to İETT bus and ferry service. The...
and İDOIdoIdo is a constructed language created with the goal of becoming a universal second language for speakers of different linguistic backgrounds as a language easier to learn than ethnic languages...
ferry services to EminönüEminönüEminönü is a former district of Istanbul in Turkey, now a neighbourhood of Fatih district. This is the heart of the walled city of Constantine, the focus of a history of incredible richness. Eminönü covers the point on which the Byzantine capital was built. The Galata Bridge crosses the Golden Horn...
and KaraköyKaraköyKaraköy, the modern name for the ancient Galata, is a commercial neighborhood in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey, located at the northern part of the Golden Horn mouth on the European side of Bosphorus....
) - 16S – Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport – Yenişehir – Kozyatağı- Metrobus Uzuncayır
- 132 – Kartal – Tepeören
HAVAS Shuttle (non-stop services run daily at regular intervals between the airport and Istanbul):
- KozyatağıKadiköyKadıköy is a large, populous, and cosmopolitan district of İstanbul, Turkey on the Asian side of the Sea of Marmara, facing the historic city centre on the European side of the Bosporus...
– Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport - TaksimTaksimTaksim was the objective of Turkish Cypriots who supported a partition of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek portions, a concept declared as early as 1957 by Dr. Fazil Küçük...
– Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport
In addition to this, the airport is located just 14km from the town of Pendik
Pendik
Pendik is a district of Istanbul, Turkey on the Asian side between Kartal and Tuzla, on the Marmara Sea. Its population is 625.365 and its mayor is Salih Kenan Şahin .-History:...
's railway and sea-taxi stations. Moreover plans to extend the Istanbul LRT
Istanbul LRT
This article is about the M1 and T4 lines. For the M2 line, see the article M2.The Istanbul LRT , which consists of the M1 and T4 lines, is a light metro system in Istanbul with a total length of 32 km There are 36 stations, including 12 underground and 3 viaduct...
to the airport as part of the ongoing Marmaray project are currently under consideration. Taxis are also a common means of transport at the airport and there is a large rental-car facility.
Airlines and destinations
Additionally, several airlines operate charter flights to the airport, including:
|
Traffic Statistics
| Year (months)* | Domestic | % change | International | % change | Total | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 (October)* | 7,292,512 | 17.0 % | 3,635,738 | 17.0 % | 10,928,250 | 17.0% |
| 2010 (all) | 7,435,158 | 65.0 % | 3,694,314 | 84.0 % | 11,129,472 | 71.0% |
| 2009 (all) | 4,547,673 | 63.0% | 2,092,285 | 33.4% | 6,639,958 | 52.3% |
| 2008 (all) | 2,764,856 | 9.3% | 1,516,337 | 27.2% | 4,281,193 | 15.1% |
| 2007 (all) | 2,528,549 | 17.4% | 1,191,946 | 56.2% | 3,720,495 | 27.6% |
| 2006 (all) | 2,153,561 | 284.7% | 762,893 | 65.9% | 2,916,454 | 186.0% |
| 2005 (all) | 559,824 | 5,323.1% | 459,922 | 95.5% | 1,019,746 | 315.2% |
| 2004 (all) | 10,323 | 265.3% | 235,278 | 52.3% | 245,601 | 56.3% |
| 2003 (all) | 2,826 | – | 154,346 | – | 157,172 | – |
(*) Preliminary data.
Source: DHMI.gov.tr