Taking to the Skies

Established in 2001, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport is now among the fastest growing airports in Europe. Corporate Communications Specialist, Mr Emrah C. Adalioglu, tells Eric Payne about the company’s proudest achievements to date and his sustainable development plans.

Originally operated by the Under Secretary of Defence, Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport was the second airport established to provide international flights for passengers in Istanbul and its environs. To begin with, the airport was home to only a small number of airlines, instead choosing to focus mainly on cargo flights. Then, in 2004 and 2005, the Turkish government decided to reduce tax on aviation fuel and provide funding for infrastructure development as a means to spur growth in international and domestic flights.

A remarkable increase in passenger traffic led the Turkish government to increase passenger capacity at Sabiha Gokcen Airport up to 25 million per year. A consortium known as Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport Investment Development and Operation Inc. (ISG) – comprised of Limak Holding (LIMAK), based in Turkey (40 percent); GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GMR), based in India (40 percent); and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) (20 percent) – was formed, and, in March 2008, won a 20-year concession to manage the airport on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. 500,000 square metres of construction was completed in a record time of just 18 months and the new terminal at Sabiha Gokcen airport, which has previously served just four million people, went into service October 2009. The largest mono-block earthquake-proof structure in the world, the new terminal has an operating capacity of 25 million passengers per year, which Sabiha Gokcen is keen to exploit.

Proudest achievements

As the company operating the terminal, ISG provides terminal, fuel and cargo services, as well as catering and security services. “We are mainly focusing on the passenger side at the moment, although we also have cargo facilities and three ground handling companies operating at the airport,” Mr Adalioglu informs us. “To this end, we have won numerous awards from some of the most well respected aviation authorities and companies in the world. We recently won the highly commended award for excellence in marketing from Routes Europe in the Mediterranean & Southern Europe category for the second consecutive year, in recognition of our pioneering marketing strategies. We were also recently honoured with the Airport Traffic Growth Award by Airline News & Network Analysis web site anna.aero, having increased our passenger numbers more than any other European airport in 2010 in the over-10 million passenger category, with traffic up almost 75 percent. Moreover, according to the ACI’s data, we have officially become the fastest growing airport of the World in 2009 and 2010 with 53 percent and 75 percent growth consecutively.

"When we first started operating the airport in 2008, we finished the year with 3.3 million passengers. Now we serve 11.6 million passengers and we are aiming to finish 2011 with 15.5 million passengers. With this in mind it is obvious to us that our 25 million passenger capacity terminal will not be sufficient in five years time. As a result of this we are planning to build a second runway beside the existing one and, most likely, a satellite terminal to accompany it.”

Sabiha Gokcen’s previous infrastructure development work has been some of the most innovative in the airport and indeed the public building sector. “We are very proud of the fact that in May 2011, we were awarded a certificate recognising us as the first barrier-free airport in Turkey,” Mr Adalioglu announces. “This involved re-designing the airport so as to provide comfortable, relaxed and safe flights for our disabled passengers because, the reality is, there are around eight million disabled people in Turkey, among a total population of 75 million (roughly 11 percent). So, we have tactile tiles into and out of the terminal building for our visually impaired guests so that they can find their way from the parking area into the airport itself and vice versa. These tactile tiles in turn take the passenger to specially designed information desks, check-in counters and gates, designed to suit their specific requirements.

“We also provide audio identification for visually impaired guests and have special points for disabled pedestrian crossing, as well as dedicated entry points and special information desks which are slightly lower, for our disabled guests. We have both Braille and large print signs to help people to find their way and handrails located at every point in the terminal for elderly and disabled guests, with private parking for those guests.

“Furthermore, we are very proud of the fact that our main airport terminal is the largest earthquake-proof freestanding mono-block building in the world. It has seismic isolators in the basement below every single column of the terminal building, as opposed to on the roof or at the edges of the building. As such, the building is resistant to earthquakes ranking up to an eight on the Richter scale, which, with Istanbul being located in an earthquake zone, is crucial because, should something happen, at least the terminal will be able to continue to operate to provide aid and help the wounded.”

Air travel trends

Obviously there is increased demand at the airport, with more and more people of different social classes and economic standings coming to view air travel as a cost-effective means of transportation. “There are now frequent campaigns by low-cost airlines claiming that their ticket prices are equal to the price of a bus ticket for some journeys,” Mr Adalioglu reflects. “Of course, we also benefit from the very large numbers of people who live in Istanbul and the surrounding area – our catchment area includes around 18 million people, within just two hours’ driving distance. Being located on the Asian side of the city, unlike our counterpart, which is located on the European side of the city, we also give very good service to the neighbouring cities around Istanbul, so we have people from every socio-economic standing coming through our gates, with lower ticket prices contributing towards massively increased demand for flights by people inside Turkey.

“Besides sterling government support enabling reduced fuel prices and strong support from our commercial partners, we have also introduced some very successful marketing strategies that have in turn led to increased traffic. For instance, when we sign a contract with an airline, our marketing team works in conjunction with the airline. We prepare monthly and weekly reports; we arrange one-to-one meetings, and generally act as the marketing arm of those airlines. When our marketing spots a decrease in a load factor at one of their destinations, we are able to provide that kind of perspective for the airline.

“Two specific innovations have been introduced by our marketing team in order to increase the load factors of the airlines that we work with. The first action was intended to increase transfer passenger numbers by introducing an integrated baggage system for low-cost connecting flights. So, you can get a ticket for two different low-cost connecting flights. At most airports, when you fly in from Sharjah say, you still have to pick up your luggage, go back through passport control, check-in and so on, before you are allowed to catch the connecting airline’s flight to Dusseldorf, say. But, with our baggage system here, when a passenger comes into our airport to catch a connecting flight with another low-cost airline, their luggage is automatically taken to from one transfer area to another, while the passenger goes to the other gate and catches their other flight. We have also established a travel agency service here inside the terminal, to give advisory services to the passengers about connecting low-cost flights.

“The second action taken by our marketing team, which was really appreciated by airlines and tour operators, was organising sales collaboration and networking summits for airlines and tour operators. Our marketing team has organised various meetings between airlines and tour operators. Turkey is a country with a very strong tourism sector, but tour operators still dominate because, although the internet is very common, because the general social attitude is quite conservative people still prefer to trust a tour operator, as opposed to buying tickets online. So, we played a crucial role in bringing both airlines and tour operators together for a one-day meeting, during which 24 agreements were made – and, to my knowledge, we were the first ever airport to facilitate such an event, specifically geared towards increasing the load factors of airlines operating out of their airport.”

In 2010, Sabiha Gokcen added 14 new airlines to its roster, bringing its total number of airline partners up to 47. “We offer flights all over Turkey, Europe (including CIS countries) and the Middle East,” Mr Adalioglu outlines. “The majority of our growth in terms of traffic is on Middle Eastern routes to Europe, making use of our low-cost prices and excellent transfer possibilities. We have several agreements with airlines from Dubai, Sharjah, Kuwait, Damascus and Riyadh offering flights to Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere.”

Sustainable development

Sabiha Gokcen also strives to adhere to international environmental norms, in some cases aiming to better the targets that have already been set out. “We are now entering the final stages of our Green Airport Project, which was declared in 2009,” Mr Adalioglu informs us. “The Green Airport Project was enacted by the Turkish Ministry of Transportation and Directorate General of Civil Aviation in July 2009. The Green Airport Project is about recycling collected waste so as to protect the local environment for the benefit of the local population and the national economy. It is vital to address these kinds of problems now so as to protect future generations. This is particularly important in Turkey, where we have a very young population.

“Indeed, our environmental management system involves utilising recycling products and saving natural resources with the support of non-governmental organisations, delivering customer satisfaction through eco-friendly services. For instance, our waste management programme, which is intended to maximise recyclable waste output by means of collection and treatment of packaging materials – paper, plastic, metal, composites and glass – is aiming to recycle in the region of 1,400 tonnes of solid waste in 2011. And we are aiming to crown our success by completing our Green Terminal Project by the end of the year, incorporating co-generation facilities for lowering energy demand and taller windows for increased sunlight and lower electricity requirements.

“Our target is to increase passenger numbers while we continue to make improvements to the terminals themselves. The current terminal is very new, it has only been open two years, so it is a very high-technology terminal, hence, we do not have any technical improvement plans at the moment. In the future, we are planning to add extensions, a second runway and possibly a satellite terminal, which, if passenger numbers continue to increase at the present rate, will probably happen within the next five years.”