Erdogan's plane to land first at new Istanbul airport

By Lale Bildirici

ISTANBUL (AA) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's aircraft will make the first ever landing at Istanbul's new colossal airport on Thursday, which is expected to formally open to air traffic on Oct. 29.

In a written statement, TRT World said the Turkish presidential aircraft TC-TUR will take off after Erdogan's election rally in Gaziantep.

The historic landing on the 3,750-meter-long and 60-meter-wide runway will be broadcast live by TRT World.

The new airport -- 90 percent of which is already completed -- will be the world's biggest project built from scratch upon completion.

In the first phase, the airport will welcome 90 million passengers annually. Following the second phase of construction, which is expected to be completed in 2023, it is projected that this number would rise to 150-250 million.

With an investment of 120 million euros ($141 million), Istanbul’s new airport will be home to the world’s largest duty-free shopping complex. The 53,000 square meter shopping complex will consist of six sections, including luxury stores and bazaar concepts.

After the launch of the new airport, the Ataturk Airport on the European side of the city will be replaced by a huge park named "People's Garden", Erdogan announced earlier.