Emirates celebrates launch of second gateway in Istanbul

Emirates touched down at Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport last night, celebrating the launch of the airline’s second gateway in Istanbul.

With the launch of daily flights to Sabiha Gokcen n Emirates has increased its overall capacity to Istanbul by 35 per cent, offering a total of 18 flights per week to this popular business and tourism destination.

In addition to the daily flight to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, Emirates also operates 11 weekly flights to Istanbul Ataturk Airport.

Istanbul is Emirates’ third international city to benefit from a duel airport operation, following London and Tokyo where the airline also operates from two different airports within the same city.

Located on the Asian side of the bi-continental city of Istanbul, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport offers travellers convenient access to the city’s impressive cultural and historical sites. Helping more customers connect with Istanbul, Emirates new daily flights into Sabiha Gokcen have been well timed to maximise inbound connections from across the Far and Middle East as well as Africa and West Asia.

"We have been operating flights to Istanbul for more than 28 years and in that time have seen demand for our services grow exponentially. We are confident that both the passenger and cargo demand is strong enough to warrant Emirates operating to both of Istanbul’s airports," Adnan Kazim, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning, Revenue Optimisation and Aeropolitical Affairs, said.

"As well as providing our passengers with greater flexibility in their travel plans to and from Turkey this new flight also signifies the introduction of First Class to our flights to Istanbul. There is high demand for this route and we are already seeing strong booking levels across all cabin classes from across our network."

Gokhan Bugday, the CEO of Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport said, "With the launch of Emirates new daily flight we now have 51 airlines operating from our rapidly growing airport. This year we expect 28 million passengers to fly through Sabiha Gokcen and Emirates’ launch signifies yet another important and exciting milestone for us."

Emirates’ new daily service to Sabiha Gokcen will offer up to 12 tonnes of cargo per day in each direction. Air cargo has a vital role in many industries’ global supply chains and with Emirates’ extensive network across Asia, Africa and the Middle East this increase in cargo capacity is an important link in aiding the rapid delivery of goods to and from Istanbul.

Passengers heading to the European side of Istanbul can take advantage of regular coaches that operate between Sabiha Gokcen and Taksim Square every half hour, taking approximately 45 minutes.

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