The official opening ceremony for the new terminal building and runway at Ercan Airport to be attended by Turkish President Erdogan, has been postponed once again, Yeniduzen reports.
The terminal, which was finally completed ten years after construction began, still does not have permanent electricity supply and has been running on construction electricity.
Minister of Public Works and Transport, Erhan Arıklı told Yeniduzen that delays were due to the strike held by El-Sen. The increase in holiday traffic was also taken into account, therefore the official opening was postponed, he said.
Arıklı said, “From now on, the opening date will be determined together with Turkey. The opening will be made by the President of Türkiye. We have to determine the date together”, he said.
The transport minister said that the technical checks could not be made until permanent electricity supply was laid on.
“We did not want to take risks, considering that thousands of passengers would come to our country before this was done. In addition, airline companies and tour operators expressed their concerns about this issue. We left the opening for a post-holiday date”, he said.
Arıklı went on to say, “Meanwhile, the materials produced by the panel factory in Kilis, which suspended its activities due to the earthquake, will have arrived. The important thing is that the airport is finished in every aspect and is ready for opening”.
Yeniduzen states that reporters visited the new terminal last week and met with the head of the Air Traffic Controllers’ Union (HTKS) Cem Kapısız. He said that
“It’s not the opening that’s being attempted, it’s the AKP’s propaganda. There are many shortcomings, especially electricity. I have been an air controller for 15 years, I do not think that these deficiencies can be eliminated in a short time”.
The Privatisation Board decided to privatise Ercan Airport on October 12, 2012, and transferred Ercan Airport to Taş Yapı-Terminal Yapı and the junior partner Kanerler on January 1, 2013.
Since then, there have been nine Ministers of Transport and eight Prime Ministers all repeatedly saying that the new terminal would open at the end of the year.
The Ercan Airport contract, which was opened to civil air traffic on February 3, 1975 and transferred for 25 years, will expire on February 13, 2040.
