site.btaTurkiye Opens Its 26th International Airport

A new international airport was inaugurated in the Tarsus District of Mersin Province (Southeastern Turkiye) on Saturday.

"We are proud to have built such a facility in our country, which will be the engine of development in Adana and Mersin, as well as the entire Mediterranean region," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, addressing the opening ceremony for the Cukurova International Airport, which is Turkiye's 26th.

"Today, we are not only opening an airport, but also a new modern and aesthetic gateway. We see that our airport is a work of world standards. In addition to passenger transportation, our airport will also have a multiplier effect on the exports of the region," the Turkish leader pointed out. "Both our citizens from Adana and Mersin will soon realize what a felicitous investment this is. The airport will open our businesses in the region to wider markets, increase the export potential and competitiveness of our companies, ensure the rapid delivery of urgent and critical materials, and, in short, help our trade to develop, supply chains to function without interruption, and economic life to grow stronger in many ways," Erdogan said further.

The airport was built on an investment of EUR 608,500 without state subsidy, the head of State stressed.

Cabinet members and a large number of citizens attended the ceremony.  

According to Turkish media reports, the new airport, located between the cities of Mersina and Adana, will be capable of handling 9 million passengers annually. With a staffed of 3,000-plus, the hub is expected to service over 5 million people from Osmaniye, Mersin, Adana, Nigde and Gaziantep.

The new airport has a 110,000 sq m passenger terminal, a cargo terminal and two runways, each 3,500 m long. The roofed built-up area is 214,180 sq m.

Passenger traffic through Turkiye's airports in January-July 2024 topped 129 million, said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu. The number is expected to exceed 230 million until the end of this year.