Istanbul Airport (IST) in Turkey is preparing to install a system that will allow three aircraft to be able to independently take off and land simultaneously.
Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said the government has been working on the project since 2022.
Uraloğlu said the project, called Simultaneous Independent Triple Parallel Runway Operations (Triple RWY Operations TRO), will optimize the use of existing resources at IST airport.
“Istanbul Airport is the apple of our eye. We need to further strengthen its position, its rights. In order to use the available resources at Istanbul Airport in the most effective way possible, work was started in 2022 for the implementation of ‘Simultaneous Independent Triple Parallel Runway Operations,” Uraloğlu told Turkish media.
Uraloğlu added: “With the implementation of the project, Istanbul Airport will be able to make independent triple landing and take-off at the same time.This system exists only in the USA in the world, not in Europe. When we open it in Turkey, it will be the first in Europe.”
Uraloğlu said training staff for the project will begin in March 2024 and trials will start within the year.
Currently, IST Airport has the capacity to handle 90 million passengers a year. With the project’s completion, it is estimated that the airport will be able to handle 200 million per year.
The estimated completion date, which includes all of the airport’s construction and expansion, including six runways, is 2028.