Erdoğan: We will use Çukurova for commercial flights and Şakirpaşa for education, disaster relief and security-related work. We are connecting Antalya and Mersin with the 440-kilometer Mediterranean Coastal Road, which shortens the current 83-kilometer route by 43 kilometers. Within the scope of the project, we are building 33 tunnels with a total length of 51.2 kilometers, as well as 77 bridges. When the project is completed, we will hopefully reduce the travel time from 9 hours and 30 minutes to 4 and a half hours. We will connect our Çukurova region to the Middle East and Central Asian countries via sea with the Adana Container Port.
MERSIN (AA)– President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “We will use Çukurova for commercial flights and Şakirpaşa for education, disaster relief and security-related work.”
Erdoğan attended the ceremony held to mark the opening of Çukurova International Airport.
President Erdoğan stated that Çukurova International Airport will bring significant benefits to Adana and Mersin in terms of combating earthquakes, trade, tourism and other areas.
Located in the middle of densely populated residential areas and no longer able to meet the needs of the city Stating that Şakirpaşa Airport will not be closed, Erdoğan said:
“It is immoral to continue this lie. Unfortunately, we cannot compete with these immoral people. We will continue on our way to serve our nation by only setting an example of honesty. Şakirpaşa will continue to serve Turkish aviation by taking on different tasks. In addition to commercial flights, training flights, forest firefighting aircraft and aviation activities such as UAVs and SIHAs will be carried out from Şakirpaşa. We will use Çukurova for commercial flights and Şakirpaşa for training, disaster relief and security-related activities.”
Erdoğan stated that with the opening of Çukurova International Airport, they are one step closer to their goal of turning the air route into the people’s route.
– “While the number of countries flown to was 50, today there are flights to 131 countries”
President Erdoğan stated that they have made major investments, especially in air transportation, in the last 22 years and increased the number of active airports from 26 to 58, adding that they aim to increase this number to 61 in 2053.
Stating that they increased the passenger capacity of the terminals from 60 million to 338 million, Erdoğan said:
“Our daily air cargo capacity, which was 303 tons, has reached 2,615 tons. While there were only 60 flights abroad, we increased this number to 343 with the addition of 283. While the number of countries flown to was 50, today there are flights to 131 countries. When we took office, we increased our total number of aircraft, which was 489, by 270 percent to 1,838. These are just the things we have done in air transportation.”
Erdoğan explained that they increased the length of divided roads from 6,100 kilometers to 29,400 kilometers with an additional 23,300 kilometers, and that they added 2,012 kilometers to the 1,714-kilometer network on highways, bringing the total to over 3,726 kilometers.
Stating that they introduced the comfort of high-speed train to Turkey, Erdoğan said that while there was no high-speed train line in 2002, they now have a line that is 2,032 kilometers long.
– “We are connecting Antalya and Mersin with the Mediterranean Coastal Road”
President Erdoğan emphasized that they did not neglect Adana and Mersin while serving all of Turkey.
Erdoğan, stating that they have invested over 200 billion liras in the transportation and communication infrastructure of both provinces, noted the following:
“We are connecting Antalya and Mersin with the 440-kilometer Mediterranean Coastal Road, which shortens the current 483-kilometer route by 43 kilometers. Within the scope of the project, we are building 33 tunnels with a total length of 51.2 kilometers, as well as 77 bridges. When the project is completed, we will hopefully reduce the travel time from 9 hours and 30 minutes to 4 and a half hours. We will connect our Çukurova region to the Middle East and Central Asian countries via sea with the Adana Container Port.”
Sharing the words of the Yenice folk song, “Yenice roads are crooked and go. The tresses are shed on the white neck. When the beloved of a brave man becomes beautiful, his life is torn away from him.” Erdoğan said, “As long as God gives us life, we will continue to work, sweat, and serve our cities with new works and services for the beautiful people of Adana, Mersin and Çukurova, just like today. Even if we sift and sift the world, there is no one like my Çukurova brothers and sisters who can find a friend. No one can break the relationship between us and Adana, Mersin and Çukurova.”
– Erdoğan’s plane made the first flight to Çukurova International Airport
The private plane “TC-CAN” carrying President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made its first landing at the completed Çukurova International Airport.
The plane carrying President Erdoğan landed at Çukurova International Airport at 15.32 after taking off from Istanbul.
Erdoğan was in the cockpit during the plane’s landing.
A water spraying ceremony, a tradition in aviation, was held as the plane carrying President Erdoğan was the first to land at the airport.
Erdoğan was welcomed on the apron as he stepped off the plane by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, AK Party Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Ömer Çelik, Mersin Governor Ali Hamza Pehlivan, Adana Governor Yavuz Selim Köşger, Osmaniye Governor Erdinç Yılmaz and other officials.
Passing to the area where the ceremony was held in the battery-powered vehicle used by Minister Uraloğlu, Erdoğan inspected the airport.
The ceremony began with a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem, followed by a video showing the introduction of the airport.
Following the speeches, Mersin Mufti Aydın Yığman prayed for the airport opening. The ribbon for the airport opening was cut by Erdoğan and the protocol.
In memory of the day, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu presented President Erdoğan with the airport’s first boarding pass.
The ceremony was also attended by the Chairman of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States Binali Yıldırım, former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Mustafa Şentop, Chief Advisor to the President on Foreign Policy and Security Ambassador Akif Çağatay Kılıç, Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Public Works, Zoning, Transportation and Tourism Commission Adil Karaismailoğlu, Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Human Rights Investigation Commission Derya Yanık, former Minister of Treasury and Finance Nureddin Nebati, and Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer.
