Turkiye's Vote Of Confidence Enhances Mahb's Credibility, Says Md

By Zairina Zainudin and Zufazlin Baharuddin

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 22 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s (MAHB) vote of confidence by Turkiye to continue operating the Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (ISG) has enhanced the company’s credibility as an experienced airport operator.

MAHB managing director (MD) Datuk Seri Iskandar Mizal Mahmood said the company is grateful to the Turkish government for their trust in the company’s ability to operate the ISG.

The airport has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAHB since 2015 and is also the second largest airport in Turkiye.

“MAHB continues to be committed to our role and trust as an ISG operator and we hope to remain a driver of growth for the airport.

“This strengthens our credibility as an experienced airport operator at a time when the company is ready to further expand its wings on the international scene under our long-term strategic plan,” he told Bernama.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is attending the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York, announced that Turkiye had agreed for MAHB to continue operating the ISG.

The announcement was made after holding a bilateral meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Anwar stated that Turkiye is content with the success of MAHB in its initial stage and plans to expand the company’s operations, including constructing a longer runway.

Iskandar Mizal said the second runway at ISG is one of the Turkish government’s development projects, in line with the expected increase in the number of passengers, and aims to strengthen the airport’s position as the main connecting gateway between the Asian and European regions.

“The second runway is expected to start operating in the next few weeks, increasing ISG’s flight capacity from 40 to 65 flights per hour,” he said.

ISG, the sixth busiest gateway in Europe, saw 25 million passengers in 2021, which is 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

The airport was selected as the “Airport of the Year” by the Center of Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Awards for Excellence in 2019.

ISG was also repeatedly recognised by CAPA as the airport which recorded the fastest increase in Europe in terms of passenger numbers for seven consecutive years from 2009 to 2016.

Currently, ISG operates a total of 45 airlines flying to 117 destinations around the world.

It is a hub for Turkish airlines AnadoluJet and Pegasus Airlines.

International airlines such as British Airways, Qatar Airways, Flynas, Kuwait Airways, Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai and Air Arabia make ISG an essential destination in their flight travel network.

-- BERNAMA