Test flights began today at the new Ercan Airport, BRT reports.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Erhan Arıklı stated that the opening of the new terminal Ercan Airport has been delayed for a number of reasons and that the long-awaited process has come to an end and that all kinds of preparations are being made for the opening on 20 July.
Arıklı said that Ercan Airport is a larger airport than Dalaman Airport, which is the fourth largest airport in Turkey. He noted that it is an airport with a capacity of 10 million passengers and that an investment of approximately 400 million Euros has been made so far.
The transport minister stated that there may be minor deficiencies after the new Ercan Airport is opened, however, these deficiencies will be eliminated in a short time, he said.
“The important thing is flight quality, passenger safety and fulfilment of technical conditions. Currently, all units of the Ministry of Transport of Turkey are making extraordinary efforts to help us here. We are in a state of complete mobilisation. On 20 July, we will make the airport ready for the opening with the participation of the President of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan”.
Arıklı told the press that flights will be made from the new Ercan Airport after the opening, while the old airport will be used for other purposes.
Noting that they are satisfied with the services provided by Istanbul Handling, Minister Arıklı said, “Our Constitution commands competition. It is not right to have a single organisation in such a strategic place, if there is an application, we will evaluate it“.
Erhan Arıklı stated that the problem of customs and police buildings at the airport has also been resolved.
T&T Technical Coordinator Naci Işık also gave a briefing to the participants.
Sharing technical information about the test flights and the airport, Naci Işık noted that there have been no problems in the ground tests so far.
Noting that a runway was built at Ercan Airport in accordance with the rules, Işık stated that the most important systems used in the world were selected for the airport and that there are currently no technical deficiencies.
The new runway is 3000 metres long while the old existing runway is 2,755 metres, Naci Işık said, adding that the old runway will be reconstructed after the airport is opened.
After the speeches, test flights started at the new Ercan Airport.
