Dalaman Airport's New Domestic Terminal
In 2015, Dalaman Airport was the 7th busiest in Turkey. Not happy with their record number of passengers, they looked to step things up a notch and confirmed the construction of a new domestic terminal.
Set to open in April of 2018, the upgrade is costing 250 million euros with a strong emphasis on it not only being energy efficient but also environmentally friendly. Managed by the YDA group, the total amount of investment exceeds 1 billion euros when considering, the 25-year contract for them to control both the domestic and international terminals until 2040.
Operating since 2006, YDA is looking forward to increased capacity because of the serious investment. Now averaging 3 million domestic travellers per year, they expect 2018 to see this increase of passengers to more than 10 million.
Pointing out the benefits of the new terminal, YDA stressed they are not only improving domestic and international travel access to the Mediterranean coast but also providing employment for many people living in villages and towns surrounding the airport.
Noting that Dalaman airport serves a vast number of coastal holiday resorts from the south Aegean, round to Kas and Kalkan on the Mediterranean, YDA also acknowledges the considerable amount of British people using the airport, citing 70 percent of the market share.
Unfortunately, passenger traffic on international routes fell by 43% in 2015, including Russian and Germans. For this reason, promotional activities surrounding Dalaman airport are not only focusing on the new domestic terminal but also increased and new flight schedules.
They are looking towards the Middle East, Asia and Africa to ensure future operations continue regardless of global events. Lebanon and Iran feature highly in their plans, while an announcement in November 2017 confirmed new flight routes from Herson, Ukraine.
The YDA group is responsible for many projects around Turkey and other countries including infrastructure projects, shopping malls, and bridges. Most projects use the Public Private Partnership model which has become popular under the Turkish government. A recent amount confirmed the Turkish government is looking to fund more travel and tourism project using PPP partnerships.
About Dalaman Airport
Dalaman airport can accommodate up to 35 planes at any one time, and the parking lot can hold up to 550 vehicles in 45,000 square metres of space. Sixty check-in counters can serve up to 4000 passengers and 5000 pieces of baggage within an hour. Flyers also have access to ticket sale offices, banks, foreign exchange, car hire and wireless internet.
With land belonging to the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Transportation, Dalaman Airport first opened in 1981, after a construction period of five years. As tourism has grown in Turkey, Dalman airport opened with 30 members of staff in 1981, yet today employs more than 300, with a wide range of them speaking fluent English.
Dalaman Airport is one of three major airports that service the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts during the height of the tourism season in summer. When construction of the new terminal finishes, domestic operations will move over to it, and the old domestic one will be demolished.
With certain parts of the airport designed by renowned Turkish architect Emre Arolat, in 2006, by the AR Awards for Emerging Architecture rewarded Dalaman airport with an appreciation award.
Dalaman airport is not the only traffic hub that will make news in 2018 because the Istanbul third airport is also set to open its first terminal. When complete, Istanbul third airport will be the largest in the world and industry insiders say it will dominate travel and trade across the globe.
Dalaman
