‘Mega relocation’ of Turkish Airlines to be aired on National Geographic

ISTANBUL

National Geographic has turned the enormous relocation of Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines to Istanbul Airport in 2019 into a video-documentary production.

The documentary, called “Mega Relocation,” will be aired on the U.S.-based TV broadcaster in Jan. 16.

Turkish Airlines made its last flight in Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport on April 6, 2019, after the opening of the new Istanbul Airport.

The officials of the national flag carrier paused all flights for 12 hours and started moving all carriers, vehicles, and equipment to Istanbul Airport in a “mega relocation.”

With an operation conducted with some 5,000 workers and some 47,300 tons of materials, equivalent to some 33 football pitches, were transferred to Istanbul Airport from Atatürk Airport.

Some 12,000 parcel of materials were relocated with some 1,000 vehicles.

“This relocation was a milestone for not only us, but the global civil aviation, too,” İlker Aycı, the chairman of Turkish Airlines, said on Jan. 12.

“We know that this relocation was going to be a guide to the future, that’s why we cooperated with National Geographic to film it,” he noted and added: “Now it is time to settle in front of the screen and watch the story of pride.”

With the world’s fourth largest flight network, Turkish Airlines flies to 315 international destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the world by number of passenger destinations.