Akın, who arrived in the Alanya district of Antalya as a guest of the Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, attended the meeting held at the ALTSO Conference Hall. In the meeting, which was attended by Alanya District Governor Hulusi Doğan, Gazipaşa District Governor İsmail Gültekin, Alanya Mayor Hasan Sipahioğlu, Gazipaşa District Governor Cem Burak Özgenç, and many tourism professionals, TAV Airports Holding A.Ş. Chairman of the Board of Directors Hamdi Akın provided information regarding the latest status of Gazipaşa Airport.
Akın, explaining that the aircraft will land at the airport in June, said, "I can say this very easily. In the first stage, the Airbus aircraft we call A-319 will land very easily. God willing, we will also land the Boeing 747s next year. This way, no problems will remain. Currently, the runway length of the airport is 1,900 meters. If we resolve the issues regarding expropriation, the runway length will increase to 2,400 meters. Thus, no obstacles will remain before us. All the latest technical devices will be available at our airport in terms of security."
Stating that according to their research, no harsh or crosswinds have been encountered in the region where the airport is located in the last 10 years, Akın said, "If there are extremely harsh crosswinds 3-5 days a year, flights are canceled for a short period. We examined the weather reports of the last 10 years and did not encounter such a situation. Since we are a private airport operator, we think just like you. If a plane can land, it lands; if there are weather conditions under which it cannot land, it does not land. There are also days when planes cannot land at Esenboğa. If it cannot land at certain times of the day, this does not necessitate that an airport should not be built in Gazipaşa" he said.
Expressing that Gazipaşa Airport will not be a competitor to Antalya, Akın stated that he would create his own customer base. Providing the information that the airport will not operate very intensely in a single-runway environment, Akın said that 2 aircraft would land per hour.
ALTSO President Kerim Taç also stated that the Gazipaşa Airport, which has been hoped for for years, is seen not only as an investment for the Gazipaşa and Alanya districts but as an investment for the coastal strip extending as far as Anamur. Taç noted that the airport would trigger housing sales aimed particularly at foreign nationals concentrated in the eastern resorts.