Istanbul Airport to develop a cruise product: An interview with Majid Khan

At Routes World 2023 held in the city of Istanbul, Turkey, International Airport Review’s Holly Miles caught up with Majid Khan, Vice President of Aviation Development at İGA İstanbul Airport.

Majid spoke about their ambitions to diversify their airline mix. At İGA İstanbul Airport, Turkish Airlines accounts for almost 80% of their traffic, but they would like to attract more airlines from Asia and North America.

Innovatively, Majid said that the airport is looking to develop a cruise product where passengers arriving into Istanbul can have a seamless journey to Galataport to start their cruise.

Majid went on to speak about their challenges which includes the changing geopolitical situations around the world which affects them a lot as they are at a central crossing point between east and west. He also said that bilateral agreements are not up to date on the focus markets as they have limitations to China and the sub-continenent. “Demand is high but supply is low,” said Majid.  

Interestingly, Majid said that they do not offer incentives like many airports around the world do, instead, they have tried to keep their charges at the lowest possible level. Their target at the airport is to reach 100 million passengers by 2027.

*This interview was filmed in October 2023