Thank you so much for joining us. Could you start by introducing yourself and telling us a bit about what you do at iGA Istanbul Airport?Yeah, sure. My name is Selahattin Bilgen, and I currently serve as the chief executive officer of iGA Istanbul Airport. I've been in this role since September 2023. Before that, I was the chief financial officer for six years.I hold degrees in economics and business administration, both from Turkish universities. My professional background goes back to the early 2000s. I started as a corporate banker, moved into investment banking, for more than a decade, and then was transferred to the real sector, with the initial task being the coordination of financing of the iGA Istanbul Airport project.Now, about the airport: this has been one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the history of our country. The government saw the advantage of Istanbul's geographical location—being at the crossroads of air traffic movements—and wanted to make use of that. Through a build-operate-transfer scheme, we developed this project under a public-private partnership model. Since then, it's become not only an important venture for Türkiye but also one of the most significant airport projects globally. We've been the busiest airport in Europe, in terms of air traffic movements, for the last five consecutive years. And, last year, we were number seven, globally, for passenger numbers.Can you speak about the monumental relocation from Atatürk Airport and what made it such a success?One of the major parts of the project was shutting down a significant airport and moving the operations to a new location. Even then, Atatürk was a large-scale airport—handling around 60 million passengers, even though it was built for 40 million capacity. There was no more room for expansion for further growth.So, on the one hand, we had to design and build a gigantic airport—from scratch. But on the other hand, we also had to be prepared for an operational transfer—and not just of flights but people and ground equipment. This required a huge amount of preparation and significant know-how from our people. Globally, expanding airport capacities is difficult—cities grow around them, making physical expansion almost impossible. So, this idea of building new and transferring operations to a different location is something that many others that aim for significant capacity will eventually have to do, and we've shown how it can work.But, it requires long-term planning, teamwork and training. Our terminal, alone, is 1.4 million square meters. It's the largest terminal building in the world. Even if you move the same employees from the old airport, they need to know where to go, how to continue doing their jobs and where to find the requisite resources.We made extensive use of virtual reality environments. In addition to outsourced elements, we also used our own people to test the baggage systems. The whole process is called ORAT—Operational Readiness and Airport Transfer. We designed it, tested it many times, and, when the day came, we moved everything in just 33 hours! From a major airport to a new one, without major problems. That was a huge success.What are some of the challenges of attracting and keeping talent for a facility this complex?One of the success factors has been our culture. When I started, we were just 80 people. Eight-zero. Now we have over 11,000 employees. During construction, it even went up over 40,000. That required being very well-prepared in terms of attracting the right talent—not just during the construction but also for operations after.Our strategy wasn't only to hire aviation professionals. We also brought in people from other industries—like myself. I brought know-how from investment banking and used my network to build our finance team. Our shareholders are very strong—they're large-scale investors, in many sectors across Türkiye, so we could bring in a lot of embedded knowledge from them too.And, of course, young talent. People with energy and who are motivated to grow. That's the mix that helped us—experienced professionals, shareholder networks and new blood. We also built our internal capacity. Our master plan? Developed in-house. The construction? Done by our own company—iGA Construction. We developed the iGA Academy to train everyone, not just employees. It's been a big investment, but it has paid off.Tell us about the triple-runway operations—what impact has that had?Triple runway operations were one of the significant goals of the project from the very beginning. Even during the design phase, we were thinking ahead to quadruple runway operations. So, everything was built with parallel independent runway operations in mind—effectively, that means spacing, infrastructure and the tech stack.No other airport in Europe currently operates triple independent runway operations. We are the first. And there are clear benefits—our capacity currently is 120 aircraft movements per hour. We aim to go up to 148. That means increasing the runway capacity and delaying the need for huge investments that would be necessary for additional runways—which, as you know, are very expensive.But, it's not just the money. It improves turnaround times, fuel consumption, taxi times—all those things that make a big difference for passengers, efficient operations and for the environment.It's a complex design that requires the highest level of technology. The more we get used to it, the better we become at using it.In previous interviews, you've talked about building a sustainable airport. What progress have you made on that front?We see ourselves as a major player in global aviation. And, in the long run, one of the biggest potential bottlenecks of the industry will be sustainability. The demand for air travel is not going down. It's going up—and it's growing three times faster than the global economy. But sustainability issues may limit the supply side and air travel availabilities—if we're not ready, we won't be able to meet demand. That's why we took this seriously from day one. Our terminal is the largest in the world, but it has been accredited with LEED Gold certification. We have our own recycling facility. We're reusing water, energy and materials, wherever we can.We've committed to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Last year, we were already 13 percent ahead of our 2024 goals. And, this month, we're launching a 200-megawatt solar power plant. It will cover 100 percent of our electricity needs. We'll be the first major airport in the world to be fully powered by our own renewable power plant.We also have a seaport—one that helps us bring in sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) from anywhere. One of the biggest issues with SAF is distribution. We've got the logistics to solve that.What are some of the challenges that still worry you?The aviation sector is often portrayed as a scapegoat for carbon emissions. Although it accounts for less than 4 percent of global emissions, but it gets more than its fair share of attention. That's because the sector is highly visible—and highly regulated. It's easier to regulate aviation than some other sectors with higher emissions.The biggest challenge, right now, is on the fuel side. Production of SAF is moving much slower than planned. Hydrogen too. The EU has a road map, but the market's not catching up. So, for me, that's the biggest uncertainty—if fuel production doesn't scale, it could slow down the entire industry.How does technology support your vision of a modern airport?We're more than an airport. On a normal day, we have over 240,000 passengers. In the high season, that goes up to 270,000. Over 100,000 people work across the airport ecosystem. When you count people coming in to meet or greet travellers—it's like half a million people daily. It's a mid-size city.To manage that, you have to use cutting-edge technology. We focus on contactless journeys, on seamless travel. Our app includes a "home to gate" feature—you can start from your house and track everything until you're sitting in your aircraft seat.At iGA Istanbul Airport, we design personalized service journeys for all passenger segments—whether it's seniors over 65, families with children or travelers with disabilities. Behind these tailored experiences lies a powerful combination of data, AI and smart infrastructure, all working together to make travel not only efficient but truly enjoyable.Supporting this vision is our Airport Operations Centre (APOC), a cutting-edge command hub that makes sure everything runs smoothly and efficiently. Technology is a huge part of how APOC works, making sure decisions are made quickly and correctly. One of the most important systems is called Airport Collaborative Decision Making, or A-CDM for short. This system uses real-time data from airlines, air traffic control and ground handling teams to schedule flights better and reduce delays. The Flight Information Display System (FIDS) and OPSVIEW keep an eye on thousands of screens across the airport at any one time, making sure passengers and staff always have the latest updates. AI-powered CCTV and crowd analytics help stop bottlenecks by analyzing how many people there are at check-in, security and immigration, so steps can be taken before things get too busy.Meanwhile, on the air side, we've implemented one of our most important technologies: the Follow the Greens (FtG) system. This system makes sure that planes and ground vehicles can move safely and efficiently in all weather conditions by guiding them along the taxiway centerline lights (TCL). This system makes sure that planes and ground vehicles can move safely and efficiently in all weather conditions by guiding them along the TCL.Technology also shines in our baggage handling operations. We operate a massive 42-kilometre conveyor system, with 28 kilometres of that kitted out with an Individual Carrier System (ICS), so we can keep track of every bag using RFID technology. This means fewer lost baggage incidents and quicker delivery times, which makes passengers happier.What makes iGA Istanbul Airport uniquely prepared for future growth?We were lucky. We got to plan this project from scratch. We have 76 million square meters of land (818 million square feet). Our development plan is split into four phases, and each phase is triggered by actual demand. We know exactly when to build the second terminal and when to add another runway, for instance. It's all mapped out.So, unlike many other hubs that are hitting capacity ceilings, we're ready. We're building a capacity toward 200 million passengers—and we have the detailed business, finance and infrastructure plans to support that.We're also the most connected airport in the world, offering more than 330 destinations. That connectivity drives demand. And, in aviation, more players often mean more opportunities, rather than posing threats. Istanbul is well-positioned—not just for today but for decades to come.To put this into perspective, take Heathrow's proposed Runway 3 project. While still under review, it's constrained by limited space and significant regulatory hurdles. In contrast, IGA Istanbul Airport is already operating with five runways, including auxiliary ones, and we have plans in place for three more runways and another terminal. This robust infrastructure pipeline gives us a clear edge in scalable growth and helps differentiate us in an increasingly competitive global market.This report has been paid for by a third party. The views and opinions expressed are not those of Newsweek and are not an endorsement of the products, services or persons mentioned.