The presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev, opened the new Turkish Rize-Artvin airport today, the Daily Sabah newspaper reported.
“The new airport is 34 kilometers from the city of Rize, 54 kilometers from the city of Hopa and 125 kilometers from Artvin in the Pazar district of Rize district, northeastern Turkey. It is Turkey’s second airport built by embankment in the sea in rocky Black Sea region.
The air traffic control tower at the airport is in the shape of a tea cup.
The first flight to the airport by Turkish Airlines landed at the new airport at 10:35 a.m. local time, and passengers on the plane were greeted by Turkish Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoglu.
The 320-passenger Turkish Airlines plane was renamed Rize-Artvin to mark the opening, and was flown by Mustafa Inanc Ersoy, a native of the Rize Market area.
Later, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived at the airport on charter flights. In his speech, Aliyev recalled Turkey’s support for their victory in the Karabakh war.
Erdogan, a native of the Guneisu district of Riga, said the number of airports in Turkey had risen from 26 to 57 during successive Justice and Development Party governments.
The airport has a covered area of 47,133 square meters and is reported to have an annual capacity of 3 million passengers. At least 100 million tons of stone mass were used to recapture it from the sea, “the newspaper writes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec36b31NZ8s
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