Gazipaşa Airport to have civilian flights
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 08, 2009 00:00
ANTALYA - After more than a decade of preparation, criticism and waiting, Antalya Gazipaşa Airport will be available for civilian flights next week.
The General Directorate of State Airports Authority of Turkey, or DHMİ, said in a written statement Tuesday that the airport will be available for all flights on July 13. All parties in the aviation sector have been informed about the situation, and a temporary border gate will be operational at the airport on June 13.
TAV Gazipaşa Airport General Director Cengiz Aşıklı said the statement meant that the airport is ready for both domestic and international flights.
Gazipaşa Association of Tourism and Environment, or GATÇED, Chairman Bülent Kocabaş underlined the importance of the airport. "The airport will help a tourism boost in Gazipaşa, Alanya and Anamur," he said. "The occupancy rate of hotels in eastern Antalya will increase, and it will also help to decrease the price difference between Alanya hotels and Belek hotels, which basically depends on transportation problems. The airport will pave the way of new tourism investments in the region".
The construction of Gazipaşa Airport, located in eastern Antalya, started in 1992. The plan was to serve not only the residents of Gazipaşa but also the Alanya region in general and the locals of this Mediterranean stretch, extending as far as the historic town of Anamur.
But it took almost a decade and a half to complete the construction of Gazipaşa Airport, which became infamous for its unfortunate destiny. The dilemma about its location, blocking the Taurus Mountains up the road and the wind that blazes Gazipaşa’s shores, generated dozens of newspaper stories, not about the benefits that this investment created but about criticism of officials for miscalculating the risks associated with its location.
In 2005, officials were planning to turn Gazipaşa Airport into an aviation training center, but that did not materialize either. At some stage, the locals used the airport territory to plant vegetables, as the massive investment was totally abandoned.
The airport could be operational only after a successful bidding process brought the highly reputable TAV, a joint venture between Tepe and Akfen that won the tender for the Gazipaşa Airport, to eastern Antalya for the next 25 years.
TAV Gazipaşa Airport General Director Cengiz Aşıklı said the statement meant that the airport is ready for both domestic and international flights.
Gazipaşa Association of Tourism and Environment, or GATÇED, Chairman Bülent Kocabaş underlined the importance of the airport. "The airport will help a tourism boost in Gazipaşa, Alanya and Anamur," he said. "The occupancy rate of hotels in eastern Antalya will increase, and it will also help to decrease the price difference between Alanya hotels and Belek hotels, which basically depends on transportation problems. The airport will pave the way of new tourism investments in the region".
The construction of Gazipaşa Airport, located in eastern Antalya, started in 1992. The plan was to serve not only the residents of Gazipaşa but also the Alanya region in general and the locals of this Mediterranean stretch, extending as far as the historic town of Anamur.
But it took almost a decade and a half to complete the construction of Gazipaşa Airport, which became infamous for its unfortunate destiny. The dilemma about its location, blocking the Taurus Mountains up the road and the wind that blazes Gazipaşa’s shores, generated dozens of newspaper stories, not about the benefits that this investment created but about criticism of officials for miscalculating the risks associated with its location.
In 2005, officials were planning to turn Gazipaşa Airport into an aviation training center, but that did not materialize either. At some stage, the locals used the airport territory to plant vegetables, as the massive investment was totally abandoned.
The airport could be operational only after a successful bidding process brought the highly reputable TAV, a joint venture between Tepe and Akfen that won the tender for the Gazipaşa Airport, to eastern Antalya for the next 25 years.