Gazi-Pasha has awaken Jul 13, 2009

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The authorities of Turkish city – Alanya, announced the opening of a new airport on the 13th of July, called "Gazi-Pasha". The not-so-fortunate facilities were in fact built 10 years ago, but could not accommodate tourist airplanes up until recently. There were many reasons for such a misfortune – first the runway was way too short, then the gravel underneath was too unstable. Either way, the airport can now accommodate airplanes, including international size aircrafts like Airbus 319, and Boeing 737. As early as next year the runway will be increased to 2400 meters (currently 1900 meters) and insure the safety for receiving larger size planes such as Boeing 747. Many Russian tour operator are a bit skeptical about the news. However, the Turkish authorities maintain that Gazi-Pasha airport will be very competitive, at least compared with the Antalya airport, located approximately 150kilometers away.

Hamdi Akin, the director of the TAV Holdings which operate the Gazi-Pasha airport, announced that the airport will attract its own customers and will be able to service two planes per hour. The new gates to Turkey will undoubtedly spur considerable interest among tour operators. The touristic flow into Alanya represents 10-20% of the overall number of tourist visits to the country (depending on the season).

Obviously, nobody is going to fly to Gazi-Pasha this season, since the tours have already been booked. But as far as the future is concerned it will be worth considering the offers of airport and formulate some contracts. In case the agreement is held to, direct flights to Alanya could significantly reduce the costs of tour operators for transfers, and possibly air fares. Tour operators who have large hotel facilities in the Alanya region will not hesitate to cut their costs by diverting traffic through the new airport as early as next year.