iGA Istanbul Airport has declared 2024 the “Year of Investments”. The airport invested €160.1 million in 2023 and has announced an investment target of €656.5 million for 2024, including key focuses on passenger satisfaction and sustainability.
“Since we started flight operations in 2019, we have increased the number of flights from 329,876 to 505,968 at the end of 2023, and thereby the number of passengers from nearly 53 million to 76 million, breaking records for both daily flights and passenger numbers in the summer,” said Selahattin Bilgen, Acting CEO, iGA Istanbul Airport. “Türkiye as a destination has also seen a boost in tourism, becoming the fourth country in the world to host the highest number of tourists. We are so thrilled to be able to contribute to Türkiye’s national economy and to our citizens through this sector.”
Investment plans include a Solar Power Plant to be established on an area of 3,000,000sqm. iGA says this will make it the first airport in the world to meet all of its electricity needs with renewable energy.
“We will achieve a 73% emission reduction in 2040 and reach the net zero emission target in 2050,” Bilgen commented. “With our waste recycling programme, we are determined to achieve our zero emission targets by 2050, taking concrete steps such as reducing waste emissions by 50% and converting 50% of our vehicle fleet to electric vehicles.”
Passenger satisfaction is also at the top of the agenda and is, according to iGA, increasing every day. Following a study conducted by GfK Research Company over three years, the public’s appreciation rate of Istanbul Airport has increased continuously, reaching 89% in 2023. Bilgen added that he believes this rate will increase even further with the opening of the Gayrettepe-Istanbul Airport metro.
