İstanbul Atatürk Airport, one of Europe’s most modern airports, is facing difficulties since the number of unused airplanes that are still at the airport has reached 40. The airport, which already had space-related challenges because of the increase in unused aircraft stored there as a result of a rise in the number of airplanes in recent years, risks turning into an aircraft graveyard.Over the course of 17 years the State Airports Management General Directorate (DHMİ) as well as airport operator TAV Airports Holding made several attempts to solve the problem at Atatürk; however, due to ongoing legal proceedings concerning some of these planes, the DHMİ’s attempts have been unsuccessful. As a result, not only has the parking problem remained unresolved but now the situation has also led to visual pollution.
According to DHMİ data, there are close to 20 airplanes at Atatürk Airport that occupy parking areas either because they are no longer fit to fly or because they are awaiting legal foreclosure proceedings during which they are not allowed to fly. There are an additional 15 private and training airplanes that have been damaged in accidents waiting at apron West 4, where the General Aviation Terminal is located. The DHMİ regularly warns companies to remove their nonfunctioning airplanes from the airport. But warnings are not effective because of legal proceedings concerning repossession of the aircraft that have not yet concluded. Wrecking junk airplanes and removing them from the airport has been discussed in Parliament; however, the grueling and extensive bureaucratic procedure poses an obstacle to this option in most cases. Even when airplanes are dismantled, it takes a long time to have the wreckage removed from the airport due to bureaucracy. The DHMİ has asked the Ministry of Transportation to give companies a time period in which they have to dismantle old airplanes. If companies or owners do not take action by the deadline, the DHMİ wants to be allowed to remove the aircraft or confiscate them and put them up for sale. The DHMİ is currently awaiting a decision from the ministry.
Encumbered aircraft that are not allowed to fly become unusable because they sit in a corner at the airport for several years. Parts of the aircraft are dismantled, repaired and mounted onto other aircraft. Items that are in high demand such as the engine, landing gear, flaps and movable pieces on the wing are sold at high prices after they are repaired. After the cables and reparable items are disassembled, the cutting process begins. The aircraft’s aluminum is exposed by taking apart the fuselage and wings with heavy equipment. The aluminum is melted and then mainly used in the production of doors and frames.
