Gazipasa-Alanya Airport, Antalya

The new Gazipasa-Alanya Airport will provide shorter transfers for European visitors.

TAV is in talks with EasyJet about operations at Gazipasa-Alanya Airport.

Gazipasa and Alanya are about two hours from Antalya Airport, so the new airport will be more convenient for tourists.

Gazipasa-Alanya Airport was refused a licence in 1999 because of concerns over a mountain at the end of its short runway.

The Gazipasa-Alanya area is receiving a boost in property prices because of the project.

Gazipasa-Alanya Airport, a small airport situated on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, is located 4km north of Gazipasa, and 33km south-west of Alanya.

The airport was built in 1992 and was completed in 1999. It has a capacity for 500,000 passengers a year (the existing terminal building has a floor space of 2,144m² and a parking capacity for 150 vehicles); however, the airport was unable to open or operate any airline services, because it was built between the sea and a mountain, with a runway (08/26) that is too short.

This meant that it could not be certified/licensed for use by the International Civil Aviation Authority because of the danger of an aircraft colliding with the mountains when approaching from or taking off towards the interior of the country.

Gazipasa-Alanya airport revival

Gazipasa-Alanya Airport was leased to Turkish airport management company TAV (Tepe Akfen) Havalimanları Holdings in mid-2007 for a concessionary period of 25 years – TAV has developed a five-year plan to turn the airport around. This was because the airport was reassessed by a Turkish committee of experts appointed by the State Airports Operations Board of Directors, which concluded that the airport could be used for international operations provided that the runway was extended.

With an original launch date of August 2008, the airport finally opened in July 2010 with Borajet Airlines making the first flight landing. In April 2011, a Boeing 737 700 aircraft of Transavia Airlines became the first international flight to land at the airport.

Gazipasa-Alanya Airport is expected to charter flights from European holiday companies that have previously used Antalya International Airport, since Gazipasa-Alanya is closer and more convenient, thereby cutting the current transfer time. Gazipasa-Alanya airport is only 40km (20 minutes) from the heart of Alanya, compared with a two-hour drive to Antalya airport. The airport is perfectly placed to serve Alanya, Kemer, Side and Manavgat.

Borajet operates domestic flights from the airport and Transavia runs international flights. Air Finland, Germania Airline, Hamburg Airways, Tor Air and Scandinavian Airlines all operate seasonal services.

Runway

Gazipasa-Alanya’s original 1,825m runway (08/26) was extended to 2,000m, and is surfaced with concrete and asphalt..

Operations

Nine firms were interested in running the airport, but only four attended the bidding, including Meinl Airports International (eliminated because it did not submit a bond), Gazipaşa Havacılık, Goldcity Aydoğan Turizm and TAV Airports Holding.

The auction phase was completed in eight rounds and TAV Holding won the right to manage the airport for 25 years.

The operating lease for the airport was finally signed in January 2008 for a leasehold of $50,000 a year and profits participation for the government of 65%.
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