16,000 people to be employed initially at Istanbul Airport

2,700 people will be employed in airport operations, 3,522 in security and 2,000 in the duty-free and retail sales areas of Unifree Duty Free Enterprise. In terms of ground services, 1,178 people will be employed by Havaş, 2,000 by Çelebi, 2,532 in cleaning, valet and parking services, 1,300 in food court and about 1,000 in other retail areas. In addition, Turkish Airlines has announced that it will provide further employment in accordance with the expansion strategy of the airport.

Speaking on the job and career opportunities provided by Istanbul Airport and their impacts on the economy, Kadri Samsunlu, chief executive officer of İGA Airport Operation, said: “With the direct and indirect employment we provide at Istanbul Airport, we provide thousands of people with job opportunities and, on a macro level, support the subsistence of tens of thousands of families with our broad ecosystem. We employ people from all regions across Turkey. In cooperation with our business partners, we will achieve a number of employees that by far exceeds that of Atatürk Airport. Considering the phases that will come into play in the future, the numbers we have achieved at our initial phase display the major employment potential at the airport. Obviously, the human resources policies of such a broad system should be managed through effective planning and great care. The goal is to grow by providing young people with opportunities.”

Stating that, among 1,085 team members working at Istanbul Airport's operation departments, 155 are blue collar, 930 are white collar, 70% are male, 30% are female and the average age is 32, Samsunlu added: “We have a young and dynamic team. Considering the averages, we have set ourselves a goal to further increase the number of female employees in the upcoming period. Our goal is to hire young talents who will shape the world aviation sector in the largest airport of the world, invest in their individual development and develop the aviation professionals of the future. To that end, we have already initiated our internship and training programs. In 2018, 79 students interned in various departments of ours, and 18 of these students were able to get a job in those departments upon completion of their internship. In cooperation with them, we want to launch services that will contribute to our goal of "operational excellence". 

In 2016, İGA placed an order for the Istanbul Airport Economic Impact Analysis Report to Istanbul Economy and the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM), two independent think tank and consultancy organizations, to inform the national and international public. The report demonstrated the direct and indirect contributions Istanbul Airport would make to the Turkish economy until 2025.

According to the analysis carried out based on optimistic and pessimistic scenarios, the airport is expected to directly and indirectly employ 225,000 people, contribute an additional household income of 4.4 billion dollars and make a contribution to the Turkish economy that corresponds to 4.9% of the national income in 2025, which is the year the airport is estimated to become fully able to meet the demands of airline transportation sector operationally.