The capital of Turkey, Ankara, is hosting the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) summit of 32 European and North American members on July 7-8. To ease the pressure on Ankara’s main Esenboğa Airport (ESB) and accommodate the increased diplomatic traffic, Turkey has officially opened Etimesgut Air Base Airport (ANK).
Modernisation project
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan landed at ANK in his large red and white presidential plane to officially open the airport. It has primarily been utilised because it is located closer to the NATO meeting venue at Erdogan’s presidential palace. A new road has also been reported to have been built to link it directly to the Crescent-Star-Project, Turkey’s new military headquarters (currently under construction).
The historical airbase was originally built in 1933 and is home to the Ankara Aviation Museum. ANK has now been modernised with capacity increased to house up to 44 aircraft. The runway has been widened to 60 metres and extended to 3,000 metres, in order to accommodate wide-body aircraft. Other improvements have been necessary for safety infrastructure such as navigation systems and lighting, so as to meet international aviation standards.
Important asset
At the opening ceremony President Erdogan said:
“We not only brought a new project to our capital but also restored an important asset. Ankara’s importance in diplomatic traffic is increasing day by day. The circulation of foreign delegations coming to Ankara is also rising.”
NATO’s 36th summit will be chaired by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and world political leader attendees are reported to include US President Donald Trump.
In 2004, Turkey also hosted the NATO event in Istanbul. Although Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city and the heart of its tourism, history and culture, Ankara has in fact been the official capital of the country since 1923, when the Republic of Turkey was founded. Istanbul Airport (IST) was once named the largest in the world but is now placed fifth in the top ten.
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