Last Flight Leaves Ataturk as Istanbul Switches Airports

A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)
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Last Flight Leaves Ataturk as Istanbul Switches Airports

A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)
A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. (Reuters)

The last commercial passenger flight took off from Istanbul’s Ataturk airport on Saturday and convoys of trucks ferried thousands of tons of equipment across the city to a giant new airport which Turkey plans to make the biggest in the world, reported Reuters.

The mammoth transfer between the two hubs, described by Turkish authorities as unprecedented in scale and speed, was already largely complete a little more than 24 hours after it began before dawn on Friday.

The new Istanbul Airport, costing some $8 billion and one of several mega-projects championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will initially be able to handle 90 million passengers a year, close to the world’s largest existing airport capacity.

Authorities plan to expand that capacity to expand to 200 million.

Overnight hundreds of trucks carried equipment such as aircraft-towing vehicles and security sensors from Ataturk, on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, 20 miles (30 km) north to the new airport by the Black Sea.

By early Saturday more than 90 percent of the move was complete, Turkish Airlines executive Yahya Ustun said.

Overnight the final commercial passenger flight from Ataturk took off for Singapore, a departure which Transport Minister Mehmet Turhan described as historic.

“I am glad to send you off as the last commercial passengers of Ataturk Airport,” he said moments before the plane took off at 2.44 am (2344 GMT). “Upon your return, you will land in Istanbul Airport, a monument of victory, the world’s biggest airport.”

The new airport, which was formally opened nearly six months ago but which has been handling less than 20 flights a day, inaugurated its new chapter on Saturday afternoon with a domestic flight taking off for the capital Ankara.



India and EU to Finalize Free Trade Agreement by Year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
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India and EU to Finalize Free Trade Agreement by Year-end

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (L) addresses a joint press briefing as India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi listens, after their meeting at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 28, 2025. (Photo by Money SHARMA / AFP)

India will finalize a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal with the European Union by the end of this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday after meeting with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.

"We have asked our teams to work out a mutually beneficial bilateral free trade agreement by the end of this year," Modi said in New Delhi.

Von der Leyen, who is on a two-day visit to India with her college of commissioners, is seeking to hedge against souring relations with the United States and said they were "expecting a lot from our trade negotiators".

Deeper access to India's rapidly expanding market was at the top of the delegation's agenda, and the EU chief looked visibly pleased after her meeting with Modi and his ministers, AFP reported.

The EU is already India's largest trading partner, accounting for 124 billion euros ($130 billion) worth of trade in goods in 2023 -- more than 12 percent of total Indian trade, according to Brussels.

The Indian market offers many opportunities for sectors ranging from defense to agriculture, cars and clean energy. Yet, protected by high tariffs, it currently accounts for only 2.2 percent of EU trade in goods.

"We have tasked our teams to build on this momentum and finalize our FTA before the end of the year," von der Leyen said in a statement after the meeting.

Standing beside Modi, the EU chief added: "We told them they should surprise us".

The bloc is pushing for a trade deal that lowers entry barriers for its cars, spirits, wines and other products.

India meanwhile hopes for higher EU investments in areas such as clean energy, urban infrastructure and water management.

New Delhi is also pushing for easier mobility for its skilled workforce and higher investments for ventures in India.

Von der Leyen's visit, billed as the first of its kind to the world's fifth-largest economy, comes days after US President Donald Trump announced a slew of tariffs against both friends and foes.