Istanbul Airport, never known for subtlety, decided the usual one-plane-at-a-time trick was passé. So, on April 17, 2024, it started letting three jets take off or land at once just to see if anyone would notice. The move crowned Istanbul as Europe’s first airport with triple runway operations—a title so exclusive that even Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle had to sit down for a minute.
- On any given day, three planes can now launch into the sky or plop down together, all blissfully unaware of each other.
- Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu couldn’t help but declare, “All of these elements guarantee the safe execution of concurrent operations and the continuous flow of air and ground traffic.”
- If anyone thought this was an improvisation, the US has been doing it for ages. Istanbul just decided to join the party.
- The project started brewing in late 2022 because nothing says urgency like an 18-month sprint involving government agencies and airline bigwigs.
- Throughout 2023 and 2024, state bodies like DHMİ, SHGM, Turkish Airlines, and Eurocontrol went through the grand ritual: meetings, safety checks, risk analyses, and, of course, simulations—lots of them. Imagination is not enough when herding metal birds.
- Eurocontrol completed the world’s least thrilling thriller—a comprehensive safety analysis—before anyone got to push any buttons.
How Did Istanbul Airport Pull Off Triple Runway Operations—And Can They Actually Make It Work?
Pulling off triple runway operations takes more than optimism and extra tarmac. There’s tech, training, and, inevitably, paperwork, all necessary so that tourists don’t find themselves on an accidental sightseeing spiral above the Black Sea.
- Authorities completely redrew the airport’s airspace maps and rewired the air traffic control system to keep things as smooth as air travel can be.
- Airlines across Europe got the memo about new rules, and, in a shock twist, Turkish air traffic controllers endured “extensive training”—indoors, using a Turkish-made simulator. Sadly, real-life stunt piloting is not included.
- Minister Uraloğlu described the technology as “sophisticated and complex,” which would sound like a computer salesman’s promise in any other setting. This time, it means radar that can spot a pigeon at fifty kilometers and navigation tools that steer jets as if on rails.
- The system even includes software that predicts routes and flow—something any seasoned Istanbul driver would envy.
- All of this was designed to keep planes and passengers moving, with as little chaos as possible, and, as the minister insists, stop runaway runways from becoming the next airport trend.
- The official launch” represents a major advancement in runway utilization and operational efficiency.” Or, in less polished terms: to keep things moving, even when every flight seems to land at the same time.
Turkish efficiency meets air travel optimism in Istanbul, where triple runway operations are no longer speculation but routine. The airport’s new system looks to herd more passengers with less fuss—unless someone tries parallel parking a Boeing at rush hour. For travelers, it means shorter waits. For the rest of Europe, a polite nudge to keep up with the pace—or risk falling behind the new normal.
Find the original report from Hürriyet Daily News here.
