President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated Esenboğa Airport’s 3rd runway, the 77-meter-high modern air traffic control tower, and complementary facilities. President Erdoğan said, “We carried out this project, which has an investment value of 298 million euros, without spending a single penny (Kuruş) from the state treasury.” Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “Our new facilities will make our nation’s flag fly more strongly in the sky and open the gates of our capital to much wider horizons.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated Esenboğa Airport’s 3rd runway, the 77-meter-high modern air traffic control tower, and complementary facilities. President Erdoğan stated, “I hope that the new investments we are opening today will bring prosperity to Ankara, our country, our nation, and all stakeholders in our civil aviation sector. I sincerely thank, on behalf of myself and my nation, our Ministry of Transport, our investor company, our contractor firms, and every one of my brothers and sisters, from workers to architects and engineers, who contributed to these investments that will add significant value both to Esenboğa Airport and to Ankara.”
“As the Government, We Have Been Working for 23 Years with the Awareness That We Are Carrying the Trust of This Noble Nation on Our Shoulders”
President Erdoğan said that with this project, which consists of two phases and whose first phase has been successfully completed, they would further raise the bar of success in aviation, especially in flight and passenger traffic. In his statement, President Erdoğan said:
“As the government, for a full 23 years we have been working with the awareness that we are carrying the trust of this noble nation on our shoulders. Our every effort is for this trust not to be undermined, for our brotherhood not to be shadowed, and for our nation’s head not to be bowed. Throughout our nearly quarter-century in power, despite our opponents’ obstructive politics, we have, thankfully, never compromised on our politics of works and services. From health to foreign policy, from education to justice, from defense to transportation, from education to industry… We have signed huge investments, works, and services in every field. With the projects we have implemented, we have brought Türkiye to a distinguished position both in its region and in the world. Today, there is a Türkiye whose voice matters on every platform, whose stance and words are awaited with curiosity; a Türkiye that is not followed, but one that is followed by others.”
Erdoğan said that they continue to work for Türkiye and the nation with the same love as on the first day, together with organizations, ministries, institutions, and local governments, and added: “We do not lose our excitement, we do not diminish our devotion; with renewed hope and greater goals, we move forward with firm steps toward the future. And today we have the happiness of adding another link to our chain of service.”
The Number of Airports Will Rise to 60
Erdoğan said that, as in other areas, they are also making intensive efforts in the aviation sector to lift Türkiye to higher altitudes, and continued as follows:
“As Türkiye, within a 4-hour flight time, we are at the center of 67 countries. To maximize and make the most effective use of the potential offered by this advantageous location, we have made major investments over the last 23 years. With the goal that ‘there will be no place in the world we cannot reach,’ we have made Türkiye one of the countries with the world’s widest flight network.”
President Erdoğan noted that they increased the number of active airports from 26 in 2002 to 58 in 2024 by opening Çukurova International Airport, and said, “Together with our Yozgat and Bayburt-Gümüşhane airports, which are still under construction, this number will soon rise to 60.”
The Number of Airline Passengers Surpassed 247 Million
President Erdoğan also said that in the same period they increased the number of countries with which Türkiye has Air Transport Agreements from 81 to 175, making Türkiye the country with the highest number of air transport agreements in the world. Erdoğan said, “In the coming period, we aim to sign air transport agreements with all 192 member countries of the International Civil Aviation Organization. On the other hand, we increased our number of international destinations from 60 points in 50 countries to 356 points in 133 countries. In 2002, the number of passengers traveling on domestic and international flights was only 34.5 million. In 2025, this number surpassed 247 million.”
Recalling the condition of Ankara Esenboğa Airport when they first took office, President Erdoğan said, “Back then, even getting from here to the city center was a challenge… We have truly turned the airport into a people’s route, and we have also made the journey from here to the city center truly modern. Now, with all these figures, we have ranked third in Europe and seventh in the world in terms of passenger traffic.”
“We Predict That Passenger Traffic at Esenboğa Will Exceed 23.1 Million in 2035 and 31.5 Million in 2045”
Erdoğan noted that Istanbul Airport hosted around 84.5 million passengers last year, making it second in Europe and seventh in the world by passenger numbers, and continued:
“Despite the opposition doing everything it can to block it, Istanbul Airport continues its leadership in Europe in flight numbers with 550,000 aircraft movements. We also achieved significant growth at Esenboğa Airport, where we are gathered with you today, over the last 23 years. In Esenboğa, where there were 37,421 aircraft movements and 2,836,000 passengers in 2002, aircraft traffic rose by 159 percent to 96,910 in 2024; passenger traffic, meanwhile, increased by 355 percent to 12,913,753. In 2025, aircraft traffic increased by 7 percent compared with the previous year to 103,928; passenger traffic rose by 8 percent to 13,987,298. We predict that passenger traffic at Esenboğa will exceed 23.1 million in 2035 and 31.5 million in 2045.”
Erdoğan said that these figures show Esenboğa Airport now needs greater capacity and higher standards, and added: “Precisely for this purpose, we rolled up our sleeves to develop Esenboğa with an innovative vision, launched the work, and thankfully today we have completed the first phase of our two-phase project.”
“We Built Our 3rd Runway, 3,750 Meters Long, and Our 77-Meter-Tall Air Traffic Control Center”
Providing information about the project, President Erdoğan stated:
“Within the scope of this project we implemented, we built our 3rd runway, 75 meters wide and 3,750 meters long, our 77-meter-high Air Traffic Control Center, and the 13,500-square-meter technical block. In addition, we completed the construction of our new 85,000-square-meter cargo apron with capacity for 6 aircraft parking positions, and 945,000 square meters of paving area, including the taxi and service roads connected to them. We rehabilitated a 1.2-kilometer section of the Ulupınar Stream. Along with 3 connecting taxiways and 5 rapid exit taxiways, we built numerous state-of-the-art structures over a total construction area of 41,052 square meters, including the flight control hangar, customs directorate, special-purpose garage, new fire station, heating center, water reservoir, and 15 duty towers.”
President Erdoğan also said that they had added an open parking lot for 1,200 vehicles to Esenboğa Airport, and continued: “In the second phase of our project, we will expand our terminal building by at least 40,000 square meters and carry out a minimum of 58,000 square meters of apron work and 18,000 square meters of pavement connecting taxiway work. In this way, we will raise Esenboğa Airport’s annual passenger capacity of 20 million to 30 million. In line with our Türkiye Century vision, we will hopefully provide our capital with an airport that is higher-capacity, more comfortable, and more modern.”
“We Will Generate a Full 560 Million Euros in Rental Income from the Contractors in Exchange for 25 Years of Operation”
President Erdoğan also made statements about the project’s construction model. He said, “We carried out this project, which has an investment value of 298 million euros, without spending a single kuruş from the state treasury. Moreover, with this project, which we implemented without setting a passenger guarantee condition, we will generate a full 560 million euros in rental income from the contractor firms in exchange for 25 years of operation. The investor company paid 140 million euros in advance, corresponding to 25 percent of the rental fee, and this amount entered the state treasury in April 2023, before the work was even completed. In this way, by using the resources entrusted to us by our nation in the most efficient way, we have once again implemented one of the most successful examples of the public-private partnership model.”
“As a Ministry, We Are Turning Türkiye into a Global Logistics Hub”
In his speech at the ceremony, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they have brought one successful project after another into the service of the nation in line with the Century of Türkiye. Minister Uraloğlu stated:
“As a ministry, with projects that strengthen our country’s transport infrastructure, we are both improving the welfare of our citizens and turning Türkiye into a global logistics hub. With your vision and instructions that ‘we will make air transport the people’s route,’ we launched a new era in aviation full of achievements. The sky journey we began with the air transport policies and activities we implemented under your leadership since 2002 has made our country the shining star of the world stage in aviation.”
Uraloğlu noted that they increased the number of active airports from 26 in 2002 to 58 with the opening of the most recent Çukurova International Airport, and emphasized that while flights were being operated to 60 destinations in 50 countries on international routes, this had risen to 356 destinations in 133 countries.
2026 Passenger Target: 258 Million
Minister Uraloğlu said that they increased the number of passengers traveling on domestic and international flights from about 34.5 million in 2002 to 247 million in 2025. He stated that they began 2026 by breaking an all-time record with 2,177 transit flights on January 4, and said, “This record has been one of the clearest proofs of how accurate and transformative your high vision is. With this tremendous momentum, I would like to announce before you that we are ready to set new records in the skies by increasing the number of passengers in 2026 to over 258 million.”
The First-Phase Works at Esenboğa Airport Have Been Completed
Uraloğlu emphasized that the works implemented at Esenboğa Airport would strengthen the sector and continued:
“The 3rd runway of Esenboğa Airport, which will add strength to the strength of our airline sector, the 77-meter-high modern air traffic control tower, and its complementary facilities will also leave a new mark on the future of our civil aviation sector. Our airport has shown rapid growth in recent years; it served approximately 7 million passengers in 2021 and nearly 14 million passengers in 2025. Passenger numbers doubled in five years. Based on the 10-year projection ahead, we forecast that passenger traffic will increase by 65 percent to 23 million in 2035 and reach 31.5 million in 2045.”
Stating that, in light of this rapid increase and demand projections for the coming years, they had begun preparing Esenboğa Airport for the future with a comprehensive two-phase modernization project and had completed the first phase, Uraloğlu said, “In the first phase, we brought into service the 3,750-meter-long 3rd runway, the 77-meter-high modern air traffic control tower, and the technical block. We also brought into operation, with the most modern technology of the age, a large number of complementary facilities such as the new 85,000-square-meter cargo apron, connecting taxiways, fire station, customs building, and heating center.”
A 30 Million Capacity for Esenboğa Airport
Uraloğlu stated that under the second phase of the project, they would further make this capacity more permanent and effective through the expansion of the terminal building by at least 40,000 square meters, along with general aviation apron and taxiway works. He continued:
“With its new 30-million capacity, Esenboğa Airport will represent our capital’s gateway to the world more strongly and modernly, and will reinforce Türkiye’s leading position in global aviation. Our new facilities will make our nation’s flag fly more strongly in the sky, open the gates of our capital to much wider horizons, and bring together Ankara’s historical heritage and modern vision with millions of guests coming from all over the world.”
