Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport) has announced it would fully relocate from the existing Istanbul Atatürk airport to Istanbul Airport Airport on December 31, 2018, although it would earlier launch limited domestic and regional flights out of the new gateway.
"All our operations after [December 31, 2018] will be carried out at Istanbul New Airport," the Turkish carrier said in a statement.
According to ch-aviation analysis of schedule data, Turkish Airlines will initially fly from Istanbul New to Ankara Esenboga, Lefkosa in Turkish Northern Cyprus (both from October 31), Izmir Adnan Menderes, and Antalya (both from November 1). All routes are set to operate daily with B737-800 equipment.
The carrier also said it would operate from the new airport to Baku Heydar Aliev International ahead of the full relocation, but schedules have not been loaded yet.
The airport is set to open formally on October 29, on the 95th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey. Despite earlier plans to launch full-scale operations out of the new gateway on this day, the airport will open gradually. Eventually, the existing Atatürk airport is due to close, although Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen will remain open.
