Turkey Opens 69-km Underground Metro to Istanbul Airport

ISTANBUL, TÜRKIYE – President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu opened the Halkalı–Arnavutköy segment of the Istanbul Airport metro line on 19 June. The 22-km extension adds five stations, serving 1.5 million residents in Başakşehir and Küçükçekmece. The full Gayrettepe–Istanbul Airport–Halkalı corridor now spans 69 km with 16 stations and carried 44,109 passengers on its first full day of operation.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The new section completes a 69-km fully underground metro ring on Istanbul’s European side, making it the longest continuous underground metro corridor in Türkiye and one of the longest worldwide. The Halkalı station functions as a multi-modal gateway, connecting to high-speed rail, the Marmaray cross-Bosphorus line, suburban rail, and the M1 metro line. Intermediate stations at Kayaşehir and Olimpiyatköy link to the M3 and M9 metro lines respectively. The Ministry of Transport confirmed a 30-minute travel time from Halkalı to Istanbul Airport and a maximum 57-minute end-to-end journey between Halkalı and Gayrettepe. Fares on the new section will be waived until 31 July to drive initial ridership.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

Comparable contract-award data for the Istanbul Airport metro line specifically for 2024–2025 was not available in global procurement datasets at time of publication. However, the broader trend context is instructive: India and China are executing metro expansions at an accelerating pace through 2030. India’s national metro programme faces documented workforce skills shortages even as corridors multiply, while China integrates rail-tourism models alongside pure commuting infrastructure (Source: Outlook India, Tourism Review, 2026). Istanbul’s 69-km corridor places it in a tier of mega-metro systems that rival the scale of cities such as Moscow and Beijing, where continuous underground ring lines have reshaped land use and congestion patterns. No independent cost-per-kilometre benchmark for the Halkalı–Arnavutköy segment has been published by the Ministry.

Editor’s Analysis

The completion of this corridor closes a strategic gap in Istanbul’s rail topology by finally linking the airport to both the Marmaray system and the long-distance rail hub at Halkalı. That creates a single-seat ride from Anatolian-side suburbs through to international and domestic air departures — a configuration that has historically boosted rail mode share in cities like London and Tokyo. The 44,109-passenger first-day figure across the full corridor, if sustained, would represent an early signal of suppressed demand. The broader bet is that Istanbul can replicate the rail-driven congestion relief seen in Chinese metro expansions, though India’s experience with workforce constraints suggests that operational reliability — not just civil works — will determine whether the infrastructure generates long-term mode shift.

FAQ

Q: How long does it take to get from Halkalı to Istanbul Airport on the new metro?
A: The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure states the Halkalı–Istanbul Airport journey takes 30 minutes. The full Halkalı–Gayrettepe trip takes a maximum of 57 minutes.

Q: Is the Halkalı–Arnavutköy metro section free to use?
A: Yes. Authorities announced free travel on this section until 31 July to encourage passenger adoption of the new infrastructure.

Q: Which other metro and rail lines connect at Halkalı station?
A: Halkalı station links to high-speed rail services, suburban rail operations, the M1 metro line, and the Marmaray cross-Bosphorus rail network, making it one of Istanbul’s principal intermodal hubs.