The airport of the future: Istanbul's gigantic new hub

Nervous holidaymakers are avoiding Turkey following a spree of deadly terror attacks, but that hasn’t slowed plans for a gigantic state-of-the-art airport in Istanbul.

It will be one of the biggest international airports in the world once the fourth and final phase is finished by 2028 – and potentially the busiest – with six runways, flights to 350 destinations and an eventual annual capacity of 200 million passengers.

When phase 1a ends in 2018, Istanbul New Airport will have the world’s largest terminal under one roof, with a gross floor area of nearly 11 million square feet and the ability to serve 90 million passengers a year.

Project bosses are aiming to simplify passenger flow with spacious terminals, ‘comfortable’ walking distances and new technology

Phase 1a is scheduled to wrap up by the end of 2018 and includes plans for the world's largest airport terminal under one roof

Located on the Black Sea coast on the European side of Turkey, the airport will be 22 miles outside Istanbul, but the project’s designers have said it serve as a gateway to the country with rail, metro and bus links.

Renderings show a main terminal and two smaller terminals bordered by six runways, along a tulip-shaped air traffic control tower and space for a park, hotels, mosques, medical centres and conference centres.

Istanbul’s third airport will lay claim to the largest duty free zone in the world and Europe’s largest car park, with 24,000 spaces.

Istanbul New Airport – the name given to the project so far – will serve as Turkey’s primary airport and a hub for connecting flights between Europe and Asia.

Terminal 1 will have a vaulted ceiling, skylights and a slatted roof that gives off a range of blue colours and a discreet geometric pattern

This design for Istanbul New Airport's curving air traffic control tower, which is shaped like a tulip, was selected last December

When the fourth and final phase is completed in 2028, it will be one of the biggest and busiest international airports in the world

As one of the airports of the future, bosses are aiming to simplify passenger flow with spacious terminals, ‘comfortable’ walking distances and new technology.

Terminal 1 will have a vaulted ceiling, skylights that provide natural light and a slatted roof that gives off a range of blue colours and a discreet geometric pattern.

Construction of phase 1a is pressing ahead despite this year’s downturn in Turkey’s tourism sector.

Terminal 1 alone will have a gross floor area of nearly 11 million square feet and the ability to serve 90 million passengers a year

Istanbul New Airport – the name given to the project so far – will serve as Turkey’s primary airport and a major hub for connecting flights

Located on the Black Sea coast on the European side of Turkey, the airport will be 22 miles outside Istanbul with rail, metro and bus links

This diagram shows the scale of phase 1a, which is scheduled to finish in 2018 with a massive terminal building and three runways

TUI Group, owner of UK brands Thomson and First Choice, recently revealed that its summer bookings to Turkey have dropped by 40 per cent following terror attacks in Istanbul and Ankara.

Last month, 10 German tourists were killed in a suicide bombing just steps from the historic Blue Mosque in Istanbul's storied Sultanahmet district. Turkish officials said the attacker was affiliated with ISIS.

Turkey, which shares a border with Syria, has also been affected by the migrant crisis.

Britain’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office said more than 2.5million Britons visit Turkey every year and most visits are trouble-free.

However, the FCO has warned holidaymakers that the threat from terrorism remains high as groups such as ISIS continue to plan and carry out attacks.