After successfully operating three independent runways at the same time, Istanbul Airport is aiming to become one of the few in the world to run four simultaneously, airport operator IGA said.
New footage released last Thursday showcases the airport’s triple-runway operations, a milestone reached with extensive planning and coordination. Speaking in the video, Yusuf Selamoglu, IGA’s master plan director, said the next goal is clear: enabling quadruple independent runway operations.
“Our target is to operate four runways simultaneously,” Selamoglu said, adding that preparations for such capacity were included in the airport’s master plan from the beginning.
Opened in 2018, Istanbul Airport was designed from the ground up with parallel runway operations in mind, Selamoglu noted. The complexity of running multiple independent runways requires rigorous planning, design, and safety assessments—work that IGA has undertaken since 2015.
“All airside components—runways, taxiways, aprons, and parking stands—were designed to support independent operations,” he said. “From day one, IGA Istanbul Airport has been planned, designed, and developed to be future-proof. Today, we are doing triple runway operations. Tomorrow, we aim for four. The infrastructure is ready.”
If successful, Istanbul Airport would join a small group of global hubs with such advanced simultaneous runway capabilities, a move that could further strengthen its position as a key international aviation hub.
