Phase two of Istanbul Airport Duty Free Zone opens

Unifree Dutyfree İşletmeciliği Anonim Şirketi commissioned the Phase two of Duty Free shops at Istanbul Airport with its 35 years of travel retail experience in Turkey and its partner Gebr. Heinemann's 135 years of international experience.

Unifree Dutyfree has gathered over 1,000 domestic and international luxury brands under one roof.

After the first shop was opened by  President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on October 29, five new shops laid over an area of 8,000 m² are now commissioned, encompassing one of the biggest commercial quarters in the world.

The Duty Free was established with TRY 1.2 billion investment in total, half of which is covered through equity capital, and created employment for approximately 3,000 people.  

Kadri Samsunlu, chairman of the executive board at İGA Airport Operations said: “We are so delighted to have taken another major step in this journey of making Istanbul the global aviation centre. Today, we are commissioning the Phase two of the Duty Free zone, which we describe as the soul of Istanbul Airport. We aim to provide an extraordinary and highly enjoyable travel experience to the passengers of Istanbul Airport. It is our pleasure to realise the first step of this process in cooperation with Unifree. We will not only provide a service at Istanbul Airport, but also promote our country and, most importantly, promote Istanbul. We are happy to gather strong domestic and international brands, and people across the world in our commercial space." 

Ali Şenher, Unifree CEO, added: "We are delighted to commission the Phase 2 of Duty Free zones today, after the first opening simultaneous with the airport on October 29, 2018. The size of the area, many significant domestic and international brands as well as the concepts we developed amounted to a hit project in the world and we established a Duty Free zone worthy of our pride; Istanbul Airport. In addition to the rich variety of products, quality service is one of our main values. Our good-humored expert sales team personalized for the needs of the passengers will serve 24/7 to provide unforgettable memories to the passengers coming from across the world."