Turkey is aiming to make a major mark in the skies with ambitious plans to build the world’s largest airport and a vast expansion of the national airline as it seeks increasingly to build on its strong emerging status to become a global player.
Boasting an airport twice the size of Heathrow and a fleet of modern aircraft, Turkey could pose a threat to struggling European airlines as well as fast growing Gulf carriers.
Key to the plans is the construction of a six-runway airport in Istanbul eventually capable of handling 150 million passengers per year.
The Turkish government has launched a tender to build the 7-billion-euro ($A9.12 billion) airport that from 2016 would position the country to become a major hub for traffic between Asia, Europe and increasingly Africa.
(Source: SMH)