Anadolu Agency Editors Visit Istanbul's New Airport

Anadolu Agency's foreign languages and international news editors on Sunday visited an under construction airport in Istanbul.



The group, which was in Turkey for an annual editors' meeting, visited the finished parts of the airport and was briefed by officials.



The editors were informed that at the end of its first phase the airport will serve 90 million passengers annually and nearly 100 airlines.



The new airport is expected to open on Oct. 29.



Once all sections are completed in 2025, it will be the world's largest airport with a 200-million passenger capacity and will spread across 76.5 million square kilometers (29.5 million square miles).



Some 250 airlines are set to fly to more than 350 destinations.



Robots will be present at the information desks.



In addition, the new airport will have 13 check-in spots, 468 counters and automatic baggage claim.



Biometric system at the airport's checkpoints will save time of passengers at the passport controls.



The airport will also include food courts and shopping centers.



When this project completes, 225,000 people will be employed at the airport. This figure will boost to almost 1.5 million employees.



Modern and traditional patterns are used to design the airport. Its air traffic control tower -- inspired by a tulip -- won the International Architecture Award in 2016.



The flower is regarded as one of the key motifs in the Turkish-Islamic culture and is part of Istanbul's cultural heritage. -