03.07.2026 21:00
Trabzon Airport, one of the busiest air transportation hubs in the Black Sea region, is undergoing a major transformation process to respond to increasing passenger traffic. The new airport, with a capacity of 10 million passengers, will be built on a land reclamation area to replace the existing airport, which has been in service for approximately 70 years, and will usher in a new era in the region's transportation infrastructure.
Trabzon Airport, which opened to civilian air traffic in 1957, is one of Turkey's closest airports to the sea and ranks among the most important transportation hubs in the Eastern Black Sea region. With the increase in domestic and international flights over the years, especially the rise in the number of tourists from Gulf countries has begun to strain the airport's current capacity. The airport, which has been made capable of serving approximately 3.5 million passengers annually through additional regulations, is considered unlikely to meet the growing demand in the long term.
3 MILLION SQUARE METER FILL AREA TO BE CREATED
Within this scope, the New Trabzon Airport Project will create an approximately 3 million square meter fill area on the sea north of the existing runway. The project includes the construction of a new 3,000-meter long runway, infrastructure allowing large-bodied aircraft to easily take off and land, a modern terminal building, aprons, taxiways, and a new airport with an annual capacity of 10 million passengers.
The project, included in the investment program by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, has completed its tender, and construction is planned to start rapidly following land delivery. The project, which will use approximately 100 million tons of rock fill, will be carried out without disrupting existing air traffic. The new airport is targeted to open after approximately 6 years of construction.
With the new airport, Trabzon's international air transport capacity will increase approximately threefold, reaching 10 million passengers annually. The new facility, which will also serve large-bodied passenger aircraft that cannot land at the current airport, is expected to contribute to the increase in international flights, especially from Gulf countries.
ONCE UPON A TIME IT SERVED 4 TYPES OF AIRCRAFT
Trabzon Airport, opened to civilian air traffic as an "Airfield" in 1957, gained airport status with decision number 503 of the State Airports Authority (DHMİ) Board of Directors in 1995. In its early years, the airport served C-47, F-27, F-28, and DASH-7 type aircraft, and with its new illuminated runway, 45 meters wide and 2,640 meters long, which entered service in 1985, it achieved infrastructure capable of all types of aircraft takeoffs and landings. Operating at CAT-1 standards, Trabzon Airport has an apron capacity capable of parking 14 large-bodied and 4 small-bodied aircraft simultaneously. Declared a temporary border gate in 1988, the airport serves scheduled and unscheduled domestic and international flights on a 24-hour basis for both domestic and foreign air traffic.
CAME TO THE AGENDA WITH TWO RUNWAY EXCURSIONS
Trabzon Airport has also been remembered for two runway excursion incidents in the past. In 1981, a passenger plane carrying the Beşiktaş delegation, which came to Trabzon for a league match against Trabzonspor, veered off the runway during landing. No one among the 65 people on board died or was injured. The most talked-about incident at the airport occurred on January 13, 2018. A Boeing 737-800 type passenger plane, after the Ankara-Trabzon flight, veered off the runway during landing for undetermined reasons. The plane, stopping after getting stuck in mud about 10 meters from the sea, saw 162 passengers, 2 pilots, and 4 cabin crew survive the accident without injury.
MAYOR GENÇ: LARGE AIRCRAFT COULD NOT LAND
Providing information about the project, Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç stated that Trabzon International Airport has become insufficient in terms of passenger capacity, saying, "With a runway length of 2,700 meters, it could perhaps meet international flight standards. However, large-bodied aircraft, especially large planes from the Gulf region, Saudi Arabia, and other regions, could not land. Therefore, we could not provide transportation. We communicated this to our Minister of Transport, our deputies, and our President together. It was included in the investment program. Its tender was held on December 27. The contract was signed on January 20. The process is moving quickly."
"100 MILLION TONS OF QUALIFIED ROCK MASS IS CURRENTLY NEEDED"
Emphasizing that the passenger capacity will increase to 10 million, Mayor Genç said, "Currently, 100 million tons of qualified rock mass is needed. We are carrying out the studies for this on one side. Our contractor company is also one of the strong companies of our country. Hopefully, we will quickly reach an extremely modern international airport worthy of Trabzon, capable of increasing capacity from 3 million to 10 million. Together with our Governor, we are working seriously, especially regarding the infrastructure of this transfer work and the logistics part of the rock fill, under the leadership of our Minister. Because this will certainly affect our daily lives. But we will also strive to do it in the fastest way. While the work continues, air traffic will proceed simultaneously. While the new airport is being built, this process will be managed by taking measures that will not harm flight traffic."
"WE ARE MANAGING THE PROCESS FOR TRABZONSPOR TO HAVE A MORE MODERN FACILITY"
Mayor Genç concluded his words as follows: "The project was being revised and implemented in a way that would not harm Trabzonspor's facilities. However, Trabzonspor would also end up in a much more difficult position in terms of elevation after the airport construction. It could actually have been preserved. For this reason, we went to our Minister of Transport with our club president. We are managing the process to expropriate our Trabzonspor facilities within the scope of this project, providing Trabzonspor with both financial input and enabling our Trabzonspor to have a more modern facility."