Test flights started at the New Ercan Airport on Wednesday as preparations for the new airport’s inauguration scheduled to take place on July 20 is continuing full swing.
The test flights are expected to continue over the next few days.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to attend the inauguration ceremony.
A briefing was given to the press on Wednesday morning, ahead of the launch of test flights at the new Ercan Airport.
Speaking at the press briefing, the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı said that the long wait for the opening of the new airport was now over and that despite the repeated delays due to unforeseen developments, the new passenger terminal and runway at Ercan would become operational in two weeks time.
“We’ve started test flights today and we will also experience the joy of opening this huge investment on the 20th of July,” Arıklı said.
He pointed out that the New Ercan Airport, which had a capacity to serve 10 million passengers and which cost a whopping €400m to complete was larger than Dalaman Airport, Türkiye’s fourth largest airport.
Arıklı added that any few inadequacies that remained would be addressed after the airport became operational.
“What are important are flight and passenger safety and security,” he said, adding that officials from the Turkish Transportation Ministry were working together with TRNC institutions to meet the set deadline.
A technical briefing was also given by Naci Işık, the Technical Coordinator of T&T which is responsible for the construction of the airport.
The test flights will continue over the next few days