First planes take off from Istanbul Airport

Istanbul-New Airport began sending planes. This was announced on Tuesday, January 25, by the TV channel Haber Turk, with reference to the Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee of Turkish Airlines (THY), İlker Aycı.

According to him, one runway is currently open. By morning, it is planned to clear and open a parking lot for 60 aircraft.

The first planes have already flown to the US and the UK. Aiji also noted that the second runway will open before morning and the situation will improve.

“By 10 am tomorrow, we will reach a capacity of 40 aircraft per hour, then we will be able to lift 20 aircraft and land 20 aircraft,” he said.

A THY spokesperson stressed that Wednesday is expected to be a very busy day as aircraft, aircrew and passengers departing to other airports will start arriving.

“The work will continue tomorrow. We will continue to work day and night. <...> All teams work with inhuman efforts, not knowing what fatigue is. We will overcome this disaster in these weather conditions,” he concluded.

Earlier that day, Pobeda Airlines announced that they intended to rescue their customers from Istanbul-New Airport and deliver them to hotels. The airline reported that about 370 of their passengers could not take off from the Istanbul-New air harbor due to weather conditions.

According to the air carrier, as soon as the passengers were delivered to the terminal, the airline’s employees escorted them to the sterile area, offered food, and found hotels for them. However, it is not possible to get people out of the airport building due to road closures.

In addition, Turkish Airlines suspended operations at the Istanbul airport until 00:00 due to snowfall, said Yahya Ustyun, a spokesman for the carrier.