ISTANBUL - Turkey's Istanbul Airport plans to make a third runway operational on June 18, airport operator IGA chief executive Huseyin Kadri Samsunlu said on Monday.
The airport hosted 64 million passengers in its first full year of operation, Samsunlu also said, despite setbacks including the coronavirus outbreak which forced the suspension of flights by flag carrier Turkish Airlines last month.
The grounding of Boeing 737 Max planes and the gradual transition to full capacity of the airport in April last year also limited flight numbers for the year, Samsunlu said.
The annual passenger number correspond to the period of operation between April 6, 2019 to March 31, he said.
Turkish Airlines, which uses Istanbul Airport as its base, last week halted its remaining few domestic flights at least until April 20. The flag carrier had cancelled all international flights until May 1.
(Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan Writing by Ezgi Erkoyun Editing by Dominic Evans) ((ezgi.erkoyun@thomsonreuters.com; +90-212-350 7051; Reuters Messaging: ezgi.erkoyun.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;))
