Featured Map for 6 April 2019:
Istanbul's New Airport

Istanbul's Atatürk Airport closed at 2 am local time today, with the last commercial flight (Turkish Airlines' flight TK 54 to Singapore) lifting off the runway at 2:44 am. 12 hours later, the new Istanbul Airport (known as Istanbul Havalimani in Turkish) commenced commercial operations with a flight to Turkish capital Ankara. During the intervening 12 hours both airports were closed to commercial operations and the bulk of a massive equipment move was carried out. (The move started early Friday morning and was planned to take 45 hours overall.)

During the operational break the airports also swapped IATA codes, with the new airport taking over the IST code. Atatürk Airport, which will remain open for cargo and other flights, now uses the IATA code ISL which the new airport used temporarily from its opening on 29 October 2018.

Today's Featured Map shows the old and new airports plus Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Internatonal Airport on the Asian side of the metropolis and downtown Istanbul.

References and additional information:

• Turkish Airlines
  • The world's meeting point, Istanbul Airport
• Last flight leaves Ataturk as Istanbul switches airports – Reuters (6 April 2019)
• Turkish Airlines says hello to new home in Istanbul Airport – Daily Sabah (6 April 2019)
• Turkish Airlines bids farewell to Ataturk Airport – TRT World (6 April 2019)