Turkey is an emerging aviation hub at the intersection of Europe with emerging markets in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

, the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

and

Northern Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...

Airlines

In 1983, the Turkish airline market was liberalized. While before, only

public companies A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...

were allowed to serve the country's airports, with the enactment of the 1983 Civil Aviation Law,

private companies A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in the respective listed markets, but rather the company's stock is ...

were admitted. As the regulation failed at setting up a competitive environment, the quasi-monopoly of Turkey's national

flag carrier A flag carrier is a transport company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given sovereign state, enjoys preferential rights or privileges accorded by the government for international operations. Hi ...

Turkish Airlines Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the ...

was further reinforced. It was only in 2003, that major barriers for market entry were erased, leading to a more competitive market, though Turkish Airlines continued to benefit from state support. With 61.8 million passengers in 2015, Turkish Airlines today is one of the major airlines of the world, particularly by its number of international passengers. Operating scheduled services to 280 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, Turkish Airlines is the fourth- largest carrier in the world by number of destinations, and the one that serves the most countries.

Airports

Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon, Turkey - Air Force JP7136173

Since the 2000s, the country has seen an extraordinary development in

civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, both private and commercial. Most of the countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and work ...

with a growth ten times faster than the world average. While Turkey's airports only handled 34 million passengers in 2003, the number rose to 105 million in 2010, 52 percent of which were on international flights. In 2012, Turkish airports handled 130 million passengers, making it the sixth-largest aviation market in Europe. In 2015, Istanbul's

Atatürk Airport Atatürk Airport (former IATA code: IST) ( tr, Atatürk Havalimanı) is a general aviation airport in Istanbul. It used to be an intercontinental passenger and cargo hub and closed to commercial passenger flights on 6 April 2019 when all fli ...

handled 61.8 million passengers making it the world's 11th busiest airport. The aging airport was however replaced by the larger

Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport ( tr, İstanbul Havalimanı, ) is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transfer ...

. With the world's largest airport terminal, initially serving 90 million passengers the new airport will massively expand the passenger capacity, with two more terminals being planned totalling to 150 million passengers per year. By 2035, the new airport is projected to be the world’s largest airport serving 260 million passengers annually. Under Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, numerous new airports were opened, starting with Zonguldak Airport and Şanlıurfa GAP Airport and the controversial

Hatay Airport Hatay Airport ( tr, Hatay Havalimanı) is an international airport in Hatay Province, Turkey serving the cities of Antakya (25 km by road) and Iskenderun (45 km). Built in what used to be the center of now drained Lake Amik Lake Amik ...

in 2007.

Amasya Merzifon Airport Merzifon Airport or Amasya Merzifon Airport is a military airport located in the city of Merzifon in the Amasya Province of Turkey. Airlines and destinations Statistics Military usage Merzifon is the 5th Air Wing (''Ana Jet Üs'' or ''AJÜ ...

followed in 2008, while

Gazipaşa Airport Gazipaşa () is a town and district of Antalya Province on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey, 180 km east of the city of Antalya. Gazipaşa is a quiet rural district famous for its bananas, oranges and international airport of Gaz ...

serving

Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...

and

Gökçeada Airport Gökçeada Airport ( tr, Gökçeada Havalimanı) is a public airport in Gökçeada, a town in Çanakkale Province, Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a tran ...

serving

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

were opened in 2010.

Zafer Airport Zafer Airport ( tr, Zafer Havalimanı) is an international regional airport that serves the cities of Kütahya, Afyonkarahisar and Uşak. The airport has opened on 25 November 2012. Location Zafer Airport is located in the Kuyucak village of A ...

serving the cities of

Afyonkarahisar Afyonkarahisar (, tr, afyon "poppy, opium", ''kara'' "black", ''hisar'' "fortress") is a city in western Turkey, the capital of Afyon Province. Afyon is in the mountainous countryside inland from the Aegean coast, south-west of Ankara along t ...

Uşak Uşak (; el, Ουσάκειον, Ousakeion) is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The city has a population of 500,000 (2016 census) and is the capital of Uşak Province. Uşak city is situated at a distance of from İz ...

and Kütahya in 2012, Iğdır Airport also in 2012 and Şırnak Airport followed in 2013. Erhaç Airport in

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...

and Cengiz Topel Airport in Kocaeli, previously operating as military air bases, were opened to civil aviation in 2007 and 2011 respectively. A new international terminal at

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

Adnan Menderes Airport Adnan ( ar, عدنان, 'adnān) is the traditional ancestor of the Adnanite Arabs of Northern, Western, Eastern and Central Arabia, as opposed to the Qahtanite Arabs of Southern Arabia who descend from Qahtan. His ancestry can be traced back t ...

was opened in 2006, followed by a new domestic terminal in 2014. New terminal buildings for Erzincan Airport and Mardin Airport were both opened in 2011 and a new international terminal for

Milas–Bodrum Airport Milas–Bodrum Airport is an international airport that serves the Turkish towns of Bodrum and Milas. The airport is situated 36 km northeast of the town of Bodrum, and 16 km south of Milas. Terminals A spacious new international te ...

was completed in 2012. In the same period, many other airports were refurbished, including the

Tokat Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey in the mid-Black Sea region of Anatolia. It is located at the confluence of the Tokat River (Tokat Suyu) with the Yeşilırmak. In the 2018 census, the city of Tokat had a population of 155,00 ...

, Kahramanmaraş Airport, Kahramanmaraş, Sivas Airport, Sivas, Gaziantep Airport, Gaziantep and Çanakkale Airport, Çanakkale, Balıkesir Airport, Balıkesir and Kars Harakani Airport, Kars Harakani airports reopened in 2006 and 2007. Major improvements to Balıkesir Koca Seyit Airport and Kastamonu Airport were completed in 2010 and 2013 respectively.

Airport construction

In the airport sector, construction company Limak İnşaat grew into the position as one of the regional market leaders. In 2007, a Limak joint venture with French company Aéroport de Lyon won the concession tender for Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari. In 2015, the company won the tender for a new terminal building at Kuwait International Airport. Limak is also part of the joint venture that won the tender for

, Turkey's largest Public–Private Partnership, PPP infrastructure project, and due to become the world's largest airport.

Aircraft industry

Turkey has sought for a national aerospace industry since the foundation of the Republic. Today, Turkey's aircraft industry is centered on the Turkish Aerospace Industries Corporation (TUSAŞ), which was founded only in 1984, expanding on a predecessor established in 1973 under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry for Industry and Technology.

References

{{World topic, Aviation in, title=Aviation around the World, noredlinks=yes Aviation in Turkey,