Turkish Cargo ended its services at Istanbul Atatürk Airport yesterday. These operations will now be conducted at Istanbul Airport, which was inaugurated in October 2018 before commencing passenger operations the following April.

Moving day

After passenger flights were switched over to the new airport in April 2019, Istanbul Atatürk remained a valuable cargo site, with it being a hub for Turkish Cargo, MNG Airlines, and ULS Airlines Cargo. However, Turkish Cargo is now making the switch, joining the flag carrier of Turkey's passenger departments approximately 40 minutes north at Istanbul Airport.

RaillyNews reports that Turkish Cargo operations at Atatürk ended last night. The site will solely be used for private jets, government aircraft, and air ambulances.

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Turkish Airlines' Cargo sector was the unlikely highlight of the carrier's Q1 postings, bringing in almost $1 billion in revenue. Photo: Turkish Airlines

Grand prospects

Following the public opening of Istanbul Airport, Turkish Cargo was looking forward to a new chapter in its history. The company shared the following in April 2019:

“The operations, performed via freighter flights, will continue to be performed from the existing cargo terminal at Ataturk Airport until construction of the Mega Cargo Facility is completed at Istanbul Airport. Getting ready to maintain its operations from Ataturk and Istanbul airports as "Dual Hub", Turkish Cargo will have a capacity to handle 4 million tons of cargo annually in our modern cargo terminal that will have an area of 165 thousand square meters when all phases of Istanbul Airport will have been completed.”

Turkish cargo
Photo: Getty Images

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Greater focus

Serving over 80 destinations, Turkish Cargo is a global powerhouse. Turkish Airlines' focus in this department has risen significantly following the rise of the pandemic. Notably, it increased its presence to hold 5% of the worldwide market share in 2020. In practice, one in every 20 air shipments was handled by the carrier that year. The firm saw the opportunity to provide a bridge during a sensitive time in flight operations and grew 67% in the special cargo sector.

According to ch-aviation, when it comes to specialist freighter planes, Turkish Cargo holds two A310-300F, 10 A330-200F, and eight 777F aircraft. Two additional A330-300s are also part of the fleet.

IATA shares that there was a 9.1% rise in air freight demand in September 2021, followed by a 9.4% increase in October. The freight market will keep developing this decade, with demand for consumer goods continuing to outpace pre-pandemic levels. Also, with the global health crisis still taking its toll on society, vaccine and PPE supplies need to keep moving.

So, with Turkish Airlines’ cargo and passenger branches now based at the same airport, the company can coordinate and integrate plans better. Moreover, carriers and airports are increasingly becoming keen to deploy modern technology such as AI and cloud computing to maximize efficiency across operations. With Istanbul Airport only recently having its ribbon cut, it’s the natural location to have these hi-tech solutions in place.

What are your thoughts about Turkish Cargo moving to Istanbul Airport? What do you make of the switch? Let us know what you think of the overall situation in the comment section.