Ataturk Airport Shuts Down As Istanbul's Flights Move To New Home

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - APRIL 06: Planes taxis on the runway of new Istanbul Airport on April 06, 2019 in Istanbul, Turkey. Ataturk Airport was opened in 1953 and was the first international airport in Istanbul. It was named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk the founder of modern Turkey. The airport was scheduled for closure at the completion of Istanbul New Airport. Ataturk Airport shut down at 3am on April 6th, with all operations moved to the new airport. The move initiated by Turkish Airlines and TAV will be the biggest logistical operation in aviation history. The operation will take 45 hours and 686 trucks will move more than 10.000 pieces of equipment. The last flight from Ataturk airport was to Singapore at 2am after which the airport will be officially closed. The first phase of the Istanbul New Airport was officially opened in October 2018 and once all four phases are complete will have an estimated annual passenger capacity of 90 million, making it one of the largest airports in the world. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)