Istanbul Airport receives ‘Chinese Friendly Airport’ certificate

ISTANBUL

Istanbul Airport, Turkey’s largest, has received the “Chinese Friendly Airport” certificate with a series of measures adopted to help Chinese travelers.

As part of the Chinese Friendly Airport project, exclusive check-in areas are designed for passengers arriving from China at the airport, which also launched Chinese flight information and ticket processing screens.

Chinese travelers are also able to use social media platforms Weibo and WeChat and Chinese has been added to İGA Airport mobile application.

Weibo and WeChat have been integrated to the airport to engage with Chinese travelers as quickly as possible.

Chinese speaking staff with unique uniforms are helping Chinese travelers, and Chinese signs are placed across the airport.

“We have implemented a series of measures to make Chinese passengers at home,” said Kadri Samsunlu, the CEO of Istanbul Airport’s operator IGA.

He noted that last year some 450,000 Chinese tourists visited Turkey.

“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Turkish Airlines had flights to six Chinese cities. But today it flies only to Guangzhou from Istanbul once a week,” Samsunlu added.

Cui Wei, the Chinese consul-general in Istanbul, said that he felt like he was at an airport in China when he entered through the main gate.

“We initially expected some 600,000 Chinese to travel to Turkey this year. But it now seems unlikely because of the pandemic. Yet, I believe we can achieve the target of 1 million Chinese tourists visiting Turkey in the future,” he added.