DHMİ President Birdal: Flying is now a need, not just a privilege

According to the statistics Birdal provided, air traffic in Turkish airspace exceeded 1,010,937 flights in 2008, and it was higher in the first six months of this year compared to the previous period. The number of passengers who traveled by air was over 80 million, a more than twofold increase from about 35 million in 2003. International flights and transit flights grew steadily, but the major reason behind this growth was an increase in domestic flights. It was observed by the DHMİ that the number of domestic flights was more than 400 percent higher in 2008 compared to 2003.

Birdal stated that Turkey's airspace has become more usable and preferable in recent years. “There are several reasons why people prefer to fly over our country. First of all, the air traffic control in Turkey is extremely secure. Other than that, there are very few delays in our airports. …Turkish airports have the second-lowest amount of flight delays among all the European countries. Therefore, these are significant factors indicating why people prefer to fly over Turkey,” he said.

Changing nature of air travel

Birdal explained that Turkey invests huge sums of money to manage its airspace, to revamp its air traffic systems constantly and to offer much safer air traffic controls, since it supplies its airports with the latest equipment. Besides, he added, Turkey's geographical position as the shortest route linking Europe and Asia makes the country the most advantageous transit point in the air.

“Turkey has a wide geographical region, and this increases airlines' preference [for Turkey]. It takes almost two hours to go to Van from İstanbul by plane, which is approximately the same time it would take to go from İstanbul to Vienna. A country where there is a lot of domestic travel often sees an increase in international travel,” declared Birdal, adding that due to the introduction of new carriers into the market, discounts in flight prices and cuts by the government in some taxes, including the value-added tax (KDV) and educational tax, have fostered the sector's growth.

Birdal pointed out a gradual increase in the number of passengers and said a considerable amount of these passengers were people who flew for the first time. “The profile of air travelers has evolved in the last five years. While only rich and elite people used airways before 2003, all segments of society … use it more widely now. Thus, less active airports started to get busier and see more flights. Some airports used to have two or three flights per week, but now they have at least 12 flights a week because the demand brings about the supply,” he noted.

Turkish air travel has reached its peak now thanks to recently implemented policies fostering its growth, according to Birdal, who said: “Our essential aim is to provide better services and to take necessary precautions to enable more people to travel by air. These precautions are taken regarding both the infrastructure and competition. Traveling by air has become a need rather than a privilege.”

 Improving airports in the country

The DHMİ has several projects that will be implemented this year. The institution is generally working on the reconstruction of runways, aprons and roads for ordinary vehicles. The construction, which includes extending the runways at the İstanbul Atatürk, Ankara Esenboğa, Erzurum and Malatya airports and restoring the Sivas, Batman, Kayseri, Hatay, Erzincan and Kars airports, is still going on. The DHMİ is planning to finish these projects by the end of 2010.

 As the largest and busiest airport in Turkey, some difficulties and problems occur in İstanbul Atatürk Airport. People usually complain about delays and want problems to be fixed. Birdal explained that the situation cannot be solved easily because these problems are predominantly a result of natural causes. “There are three runways at Atatürk Airport, but these runways cross each other, which complicates the situation in comparison with parallel runways. In aviation, the runways are chosen depending on the direction of the wind. Therefore, if the wind blows from the south, only one of them can be used. Sometimes this results in bottlenecks, and we have experienced so many bottlenecks at Atatürk Airport this year. Thus, we have to use only one runway under certain conditions, and this gives rise to delays,” he said.

 “When we use runways that cross, we have to be more careful than we would if these runways were parallel. Also, there are internationally determined rules that we have to follow. For instance, the maximum distance between two planes during takeoff and the time period between a departure and the following landing, these are all governed by international rules. As we strictly follow all the rules, some problems regarding timing and delays occur from time to time. A delay is preferable to a security issue,” Birdal said.

The safest and most favorable means of travel

Air travel is by far the safest means of travel. In Turkey, there have been only 16 plane crashes in 48 years, with 1,140 deaths as a result of those crashes, while, only in the last year, 4,228 people died in accidents on highways. Being the most secure means of travel makes air travel popular among people.

Birdal stated that in order to ensure the highest security in the airlines, all actors in the sector, in the air and on the ground, have to take the necessary precautions. “These are just like a chain. If one of the links does not act properly, it affects the rest of the links. Not only natural conditions but also the actions of authorities influence delays,” he said. “Flight safety is the most important thing in aviation; nothing else is as important. We are always trying to improve the safety of our planes and airports.”

The DHMİ president said the main reasons people travel to Turkey are for business and tourism. “The tourists find what they need in Turkey and want to come to the country. Also, Turkey has an economical investment area, which results in a considerable increase in international arrivals as much as domestic flights,” he noted.

Mergers a must for growth in sector

The number of transit flights in Turkey is also increasing because of international mergers between airlines. Birdal explained that it is impossible for an airline to arrange flights all over the world, so companies come to an agreement to carry each other's passengers. Airlines that have agreements with Turkish companies stop over somewhere in Turkey and then continue on their journey, so this increases the number of transit flights. “Companies have to sign these agreements to broaden their ranges because without mergers, they cannot grow and go beyond their domestic borders,” he suggested.

The DHMİ aims to serve over 220 million people by 2013, with increased investments in infrastructure across the country. Noting that the airline business is dynamic and continually growing, he said, “The people coming to Turkey from Europe want to find the same comfort here, and we are working hard to keep up with this level.”

“The important thing is to evaluate the social and commercial needs of society and meet these needs and also to make money while doing these things. Airline companies rely on this, and that's why the number of passengers has increased despite the decrease in the number of companies. Everyone in the sector can make a living without any negative consequences,” he concluded.