İstanbul’s new airport, which aims to become one of the world’s busiest, will not become fully operational until April 7, Reuters reported, citing the Hürriyet daily.
The $12 billion project was declared open in October by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but only a handful of flights have been operating from the site since then.
Its full operation had first been delayed until January and later pushed back to March, in a setback for the government, which has hailed it as a centerpiece of the construction boom that has driven strong economic growth under Erdoğan’s 15-year rule.
The transfer to the new airport from the existing İstanbul Ataturk Airport will begin on April 5 at 3 a.m. and will last 45 hours, Hürriyet said.
IGA, the company building and operating the airport, said it would soon announce recent developments on its website. The General Directorate of State Airport Authorities (DHMI) said it had not received information regarding the latest delay.
İstanbul Airport will be able to handle 90 million passengers a year and can be expanded to accommodate as many as 200 million, Erdoğan said at the opening ceremony.