Turkish airline AtlasGlobal is set to declare bankruptcy over cash flow problems caused by last year’s move to the new Istanbul Airport, Airport Haber said on Wednesday.
“Atlasglobal has stopped all flight operations and is preparing to file for bankruptcy. It was learned that a meeting was held with personnel at Atlasglobal and that they were notified to not come to work from tomorrow”, Airport Haber said.
The Turkish budget carrier on 27 November, last year, suspended all flights partly due to rising expenses at the airport, is prompting other companies to demand cost cuts.
Airlines were making financial losses because of the expense of transporting cargo to and from the airport, which was being carried exclusively in passenger planes, according to the head of the Association of International Forwarding and Logistics Service Providers (UTIKAD).
Istanbul Airport opened to much public fanfare just over a year ago.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has heralded its arrival as a reflection of Turkey’s emerging global power – he says the facility will be the world’s largest once all construction phases are complete. But the airport has been beset with teething problems, most notably by inadequate transport infrastructure and alleged financial troubles at operating company IGA, which is seeking to restructure billions of dollars in debt.
Avhal