Istanbul Airport has opened its third runway, enabling three aircraft to take off or land simultaneously—a first for Europe and a major milestone for global aviation.

During the launch, three Turkish Airlines flights departed simultaneously to Ankara, Izmir, and Kayseri. Transport Minister Abdülkadir Uraloğlu highlighted the achievement, stating, “This is a historic step in global aviation. Türkiye becomes the only country after the USA to implement this system.”

Developed in coordination with DHMİ, SHGM, EUROCONTROL, İGA, and THY, the system increases airport capacity and efficiency without impacting operations at Atatürk or Sabiha Gökçen airports. Air traffic controllers were trained using Türkiye’s first locally developed 360-degree tower simulator.