Turkish Airlines 33-Hour Move To Istanbul’s IGA Sets Global Benchmark

Recommendation: implement a public-private coordination cell that publishes a direct 33-hour timetable, closely aligning with dispatchers and bahadır to secure the entire operation with limited risk. This predicted plan can become the standard for future relocations as processes remain evolving, with publishing updates and real-time data feeds over the air to agencies and partners. The approach reduces disruption, keeps lines open, and sets a concrete template for cross-border routines in aviation.

Operational frame: The move spans over the 33-hour window with public-private coordination, direct handoffs, and real-time publishing of milestones. The plan remains evolving and will circulate through dispatchers, ground teams, and air-traffic controllers every 30 minutes during peak shifts, enabling open feedback and adjustments. This exceptional collaboration reduces delays, while keeping the entire network informed and prepared for next steps. bahadır contributes practical checks for ramp operations and safety-critical steps.

Global benchmark impact: Istanbul’s IGA move is designed to become a true open standard for cross-border coordination, tying public-private teams to cut turnarounds and publish milestones that airlines can rely on. The operation relies on direct data feeds and publishing of status updates to help the sector anticipate disruptions earlier, enabling further efficiency and reducing idle time as the aviation ecosystem grows. The lessons learned will be shared widely to accelerate adoption by open networks and partners.

Actionable steps for others: Build a joint public-private task force ready to replicate this blueprint at other hubs; publish a three-phase schedule with open channels for dispatcher feedback, and conduct quarterly drills that align with direct routes. Establish evolving standards and publishing of lessons learned to help the broader aviation sector adapt quickly and safely, while maintaining a limited risk profile as operations scale further.

Timeline and key milestones of the 33-hour move to IGA

Start with a staged plan that keeps terminals connected and doors secured at every transfer, so teams stay together and connectivity remains strong.

The move unfolds in four linked phases, underpinned by mounted assets, clear positions, and growing collaboration across the group. Investments in hygiene systems and covidsafe practices help the operation stay resilient in a difficult environment. This approach is important to manage risk and keep stakeholders aligned.

Phase milestones

Hour 0–6: Equipment and IT racks are mounted; read status dashboards hourly; doors to staging areas are sealed; teams kept positions and prepared the entire workflow for a smooth handoff.

Hour 6–12: Terminals are staged and operations proceed together. The turkeys’ aviation teams coordinate cross-dock transfers, while hygiene measures are reinforced to sustain covidsafe practices and keep travelers and staff safe.

Hour 12–21: Flight operations begin shifting toward IGA; connectivity tests are completed, and evolving procedures are deployed. The team maintains unity of the group and adjusts positions to minimize congestion.

Hour 21–33: Final handover occurs with the entire network mounted at the IGA site; doors open to the new channels, and investments in staff readiness pay off. Across turkeys operations and the broader network, hygiene and covidsafe standards remain in effect, and the team reads real-time feedback to refine practices, navigating evolving regulatory conditions across the entire system. The run significantly improves resilience and reduces disruption for the broader network.

Airline operations coordination: rostering, crew shifts, and flight planning implications

Implement a centralized rostering system with dynamic crew shifts and integrated flight planning to minimize disruption and improve reliability across destinations and markets.

Rostering and crew shift optimization

Use a centralized roster that links three crew blocks to the flight schedule, reducing fatigue and wasted time. Roster decisions rely on known demand signals and projections, not gut feeling. Track fuel burn implications per crew pairing and per route to optimize fuel usage. Set a target cost per roster block that captures overtime, standby coverage, and premium shifts. Align arrival windows with gate readiness across destinations, so crews and ground teams move smoothly. Engage volunteers where feasible to cover gaps without compromising safety and service levels across networks. Ensure their rest periods stay within duty limits to protect performance and safety.

Flight planning implications across fleets and destinations

Integrate rostering data with flight planning to reduce idle time for planes and vehicles. Use validated projections for fuel, weather, and payload to adjust departures, connections, and stand-by slots. Ensure crews arrive on time by coordinating layovers and their rest periods with duty limits. Such an approach yields benefits: higher asset utilization, better service continuity, and cost savings across Europes markets and globally for services that connect a wide range of destinations. Initiated programs to maintain a flexible pool of on-call or volunteers support the state of readiness to cover disruptions; the choice of cross-trained crews improves resilience and performance. Active feedback loops feeding planning projections help adapt to real-time conditions and ensure high-quality services.

Ground and cargo logistics: baggage transfer, freight handling, and terminal handover

Build a centralized baggage and cargo handover desk at the IGA facility, wired into RFID tagging, automated sortation, and real-time feeds to airline systems, to provide reliable visibility from drop-off to final destinations. The least transfer times are defined as 25 minutes for intra-terminal baggage and 90 minutes for cross-terminal freight, with daily reports tracking status and cost per transfer. The authority confirms safety and regulatory alignment, and the nominated lead team maintains the order across operations, led by kalyoncu. This must be accompanied by robust training for handlers to sustain performance, and a strong network of bial partners is integrated into the system. A frontline person on the floor stays kept informed via a single dashboard, allowing rapid decision-making without duplicating effort. This framework supports türkiyes routes and around-the-world networks, with covidsafe protocols embedded at every handover step.

Baggage transfer and passenger flow

For baggage transfer and passenger flow, deploy three dedicated belts feeding to matched flights, backed by RFID reads and barcode checks to ensure accurate routing. Real-time status updates feed into a single dashboard, enabling a frontline person on the floor to intervene quickly and keep dwell time to a minimum. Aimed at reducing mis-sorts and missed connections, the setup relies on a shared data source and automatic alerting, with daily reports to the authority and to kalyoncu’s team. Destinations across the world, including türkiyes, benefit from covidsafe handling that preserves passenger experience without slowing operations.

Freight handling and terminal handover

Freight handling requires a secure cross-dock flow, with separate zones for standard, perishable, and dangerous goods, plus an integrated customs clearance point. Build a digital handover with pallet IDs, air waybills, and EDI feeds to cargo partners, ensuring terminal handover to truck and rail at defined milestones. The nominated authority oversees performance; reports confirm throughput against targets, and the status is updated hourly. Without gaps in data, the process supports around-the-world shipments and türkiyes routes. A continuous improvement loop keeps costs predictable and enables the ongoing expansion of destinations, with covidsafe measures applied at every touchpoint.

Technology migration and data continuity: IT systems, reservations, and security during transition

Adopt a parallel migration with a guarded 72-hour cutover and 14-day data reconciliation. Keep the legacy reservations system running during the switch, validate the new platform with live data every 5 minutes, and stage performance tests in a controlled pilot. This reduces risk for city operations and gives teams very clear visibility, giving stakeholders confidence during the transition.

Governance and readiness

• Form a city minister-led steering group with engaged leaders across IT, reservations, and security; ahmet chairs IT input, bolat leads security; erdoğan endorses the plan for accountability, coordinating with atlanta and european partners.
• Nominate a project owner and a security lead; assign core systems, software, and integration responsibilities.
• Capture minutes after milestones and publish decisions to all stakeholders, ensuring alignment with international partners and internal teams.
• Assess cost and third-party risk; require robust contracts, service levels, and contingency options to prevent failure.
• Plan staffing for covid-related absences; very careful cross-training so teams can join critical tasks during the transition.
• Proactively map data flows from legacy to new systems, ensuring data integrity and an auditable trail for umrah travel windows.

Technical plan: systems, reservations, and security

• Set up parallel environments for core operation systems and the reservations database; validate with test transactions and minutes-based reconciliation.
• Keep software versions aligned across platforms; implement automated patching and rollback mechanisms to prevent failure in production.
• Enable stringent IAM with MFA, least privilege, and periodic access reviews; enforce separation of duties for finance, reservations, and operations.
• Deploy security controls: WAF, DLP, encryption at rest and in transit, and regular backups with tested recovery procedures to guarantee data continuity.
• Institute near-real-time data protection with replication targeting 5 minutes or less; include disaster recovery drills across european zones.
• Schedule a phased cutover across time zones, with a formal join window for third-party partners and internal teams to mitigate risk and keep operation smooth.

Safety, security and regulatory checkpoints: approvals, inspections, and incident readiness

Recommendation: Launch a unified, end-to-end approvals dashboard that oversees all safety, security, and regulatory checkpoints, consolidating five stand-alone stages–planning, inspections, authorisation, verification, and incident readiness–into a single open, digital programme. This strategy accelerates processing, improves punctuality for travellers, and sets a full, world-class standard for how regulators and operators work together.

The regulator oversees safety approvals and a nominated coordination team steers compliance across airliners and ground vehicles. By aligning five jurisdictions–civil aviation, national security, customs, immigration, and airport authorities–inside one interface, the process mirrors historic benchmarks such as hartsfield-jackson and relies on tablets to capture data in real time. This alignment supports a mission to sustain high service levels for travellers while maintaining rigorous control of risk.

Open inspection templates standardise the five core checks: pre-departure, ramp, cargo, security, and incident readiness. Inspectors use tablets for checklists, photos, and geo-tagged notes, while the platform assigns third-party audits automatically. The result is a full data trail that regulators and operators alike can trust, boosting transparency and incident readiness.

Establish a five-tier incident-readiness programme with monthly drills and annual live exercises. Drills simulate disruptions from IT outages to fuel-shortage scenarios and measure response times, communication quality, and containment. After each exercise, lessons feed back into the procedure set, growing the forest of guidelines that support workers and regulators alike.

Incorporate environmental and safety KPIs into the central dashboard: track emissions per flight, energy use per vehicle, and safety training completion rates for workers. The generation of dashboards should be real-time, with a very clear indication of where to act. Include a five-minute alert for anomalies and a full audit trail for regulators. The data supports a proactive culture where travellers expect punctual service and staff can act promptly.

Implementation blueprint for agencies and operators

Adopt a phased rollout starting with one hub and expanding to five within 12 months. Assign a single owner per station and ensure training on tablets, data privacy, and compliance. Mandate monthly reviews with regulators and quarterly public reports on general programme status to maintain openness and accountability.

Measurement and continuous improvement

Set metrics: approval cycle time, inspection pass rate, incident response time, and passenger-safety score. Aim to cut overall processing time by 20-30% within the first year and sustain a high level of safety and security. Use the data to refine the five stand-alone stages and incorporate lessons into the programme. The approach must be adaptable to changing regulations and new security needs.

Related organisations and partnerships: IGA, Turkish authorities, IATA, ICAO, and carrier partners

Adopt a formal public-private partnership that assigns joint ownership to IGA, Turkish authorities, and carrier partners for safety, operations, and software integration across istanbuls airports, ensuring real-time communication and accountability.

IGA coordinates with government agencies and industry bodies to align standards where safety, fleet performance, equipment readiness, and software interoperability meet operational goals. This collaboration connects five areas: safety, fleet, equipment and vehicle readiness, software systems, and media communication with the public.

Where these organisations converge, benefits include higher safety metrics, faster decision cycles, and lower total cost of ownership. IATA and ICAO confirm adherence to global norms, while carrier partners nominated for joint scheduling and resource order blocks strengthen connectivity and fleet utilization, contributing to future success. The result is a more connected operation that can become a reference model for large hubs.

Initiatives to put in motion include creating a dedicated ops room for real-time data sharing, standardising communication protocols, and investing in software that links airplane performance, fleet status, equipment and vehicle readiness, and ground support tools. Training programs should emphasize communication skills and safety procedures, with media scripts to maintain transparent public messaging. These steps support a five-year roadmap aligned with government targets and europes expectations while balancing cost and safety.

Post-move performance metrics: throughput, reliability, and customer experience benchmarks

Implement a unified throughput dashboard within the first week post-move and publish weekly benchmarks to drive accountability across terminals and the site.

Data from dinsdale analytics, already informing adjustments at the terminal level, shows that the biggest gains come from tightening check-in and baggage flow, installing efficient dispenser points, and locating printer kiosks where queues form. covid-era resilience remains active, but the focus now is operational throughput and customer experience across runways and the terminal network, with a clear advertisement of progress to staff and passengers alike.

These efforts have been nominated as the core performance plan, and publishing these results to partner companies will spark ideas for continuous improvement. Robson and other industry voices already highlighted how innovation in service design–including signage, queue management, and front-line training–enhances reliability without sacrificing service quality.

Throughput targets and measurement

• Peak-hour throughput: target 2,400 passenger movements per hour (PMH) across all terminals, with terminal-specific ranges of 800–1,200 PMH depending on layout and assignable gates.
• Check-in and bag-drop combined: 2,200–2,800 movements/hour; security lanes: 1,000–1,400 PMH; baggage handling: 4,000 bags/hour via the central system and distributed conveyors.
• Aircraft movements: up to 60 movements/hour across runways when demand peaks, with coordinated taxi times under 8 minutes per aircraft.
• Technology readiness: self-service kiosks and mobile check-in adoption at 60–75%; printers and digital signage deployed in 95% of high-traffic zones; sanitizer dispensers placed at every major queue; advertisement panels updated in real time to reflect flow changes.

Reliability and customer experience benchmarks

• IT and operations uptime: core systems 99.95% availability; baggage handling 99.9%; conveyor networks 99.8% uptime.
• On-time performance: schedule adherence target 85–92% of departures within 15 minutes of planned time; arrivals within 10 minutes of forecast.
• Customer experience: NPS target +40; CSAT 92–93%; average security wait time under 12 minutes; baggage claim time under 8 minutes.
• In-person service flow: average queue length at peak does not exceed 3–4 minutes of wait per station; misconnect rate below 1.5%; help desks resolved within 24 hours on most inquiries.
• Passenger journey touchpoints: mobile boarding passes adopted by 70–80% of passengers; kiosk and counter interactions reduced to 60–75% of total touchpoints; mystery shopper scores in the “excellent” range across the site.

These benchmarks guide quick wins and long-term enhancements. The evolving focus includes strengthening operational routines, tightening end-to-end process timing, and sustaining a positive passenger experience even during peak loads.