Economy
Istanbul Airport gets 4th main, 1st east-west-oriented runway
Türkiye is opening the fourth main runway at Istanbul Airport on Friday, with officials saying it will reduce taxiing and airborne times while helping airlines save fuel.
The new east-west runway is the airport’s first operating in that direction.
Istanbul Airport currently has three main and two reserve runways oriented north-south. The new runway brings the total number of runways to six, including four main runways.
The hub is ultimately planned to have nine runways, comprising six main and three reserve runways.
The new runway is 2,820 meters long and 45 meters wide.
It will be used particularly for flights to Anatolia, Central Asia and the Arabian Peninsula, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said Thursday.
Because aircraft will be able to take off in an east-west direction, they will no longer need to turn east again after departure, he said.
This is expected to reduce taxiing and airborne times, resulting in savings in fuel and time. The runway is expected to be particularly useful for domestic and eastbound routes.
The new east-west runway will initially be used only for takeoffs, according to officials. The airport also plans to introduce simultaneous four-runway operations in the future.
Istanbul Airport began simultaneous independent triple-parallel runway operations in April 2025, becoming the first airport in Europe to do so.
The gleaming glass-and-steel structure along the Black Sea coast has become one of the world’s most important transit centers since becoming fully operational in April 2019.
Istanbul has overtaken London Heathrow to become the world’s most internationally connected airport, a report by global travel intelligence partner OAG said Wednesday.
It has possible connections to 337 global destinations, with national flag carrier Turkish Airlines operating 80% of flights at the airport, the report said.
Istanbul, meanwhile, recently overtook Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers. Industry groups and officials, including the London hub’s CEO himself, had been expecting that to happen this year or the next.
The hub can handle 90 million passengers annually in the current phase. The figure is nothing compared to its potential capacity to serve 200 million after completing all phases.
Istanbul Airport served a record 84.5 million passengers in 2025, making it the second-busiest airport in Europe after London Heathrow and the eighth-busiest worldwide.
It aims to reach the 90 million-passenger mark this year.
The number of active airports Türkiye has risen to 58 from 26 in 2002, with the government renovating 16 previously inactive airports and building 16 new ones.
The number is expected to reach 60 as airports currently under construction are completed.
Passenger traffic on domestic and international routes rose to a record 247 million in 2025, putting Türkiye third in Europe and seventh globally.
Turkish authorities jailed four people pending trial and imposed travel bans and asset restrictions on 51 others Friday in investigations into alleged market manipulation, a day after authorities rolled out measures to support markets after recent volatility.
The investigation followed a criminal complaint by the Capital Markets Board (SPK) over alleged manipulative transactions in some investment funds and shares, Justice Minister Akin Gürlek said.
Turkish authorities did not name the people affected.
The four jailed suspects included a fund board chair and board members, Gürlek said, adding that the court ordered restrictions on accounts and assets to prevent them from being transferred.
The announcement came a day after authorities moved to shore up financial stability after a small number of funds struggled to meet client withdrawals amid a stock market selloff.
The capital markets board ordered liquidation of several investment funds worth around $18.3 billion managed by seven portfolio management companies.
Authorities also launched proceedings against people accused of using social media to manipulate capital markets, with 16 suspects jailed pending trial, Gürlek said.
Turkish capital markets regulator appointed the country’s largest public and private banks Friday to oversee the liquidation of 131 investment funds managed by seven portfolio companies, following earlier decisions to suspend trading in the funds.
The assets under management of liquidated funds exceed TL 890 billion ($18.3 billion).
The Capital Markets Board (SPK) said Ziraat Bank and Işbank would convert fund assets into cash and distribute proceeds to investors, with the liquidation process expected to be completed within three months unless extended.
Işbank was mandated to oversee the liquidation of Tera Pörtfoy’s funds and Ziraat Bank to oversee funds established by A1 Capital, Atlas, Bulls, Hedef, Pardus and Pusula, the regulator said.
Turkish authorities announced Thursday a series of measures to contain market volatility after some investment funds defaulted on redemption requests.
A U.S. government website employed an AI model from a Chinese company for users to search proposed federal regulations, despite the FBI accusing the model’s developer, Alibaba, of “malicious” copying of U.S. rival Anthropic’s technology.
The website of the Federal Register, which is run by the National Archives, had the search tool using Alibaba’s Qwen model available Wednesday along with other search options. It was unclear when it was deployed.
The Qwen-powered search was taken down Wednesday around the same time social media posts appeared about it, according to screenshots and an archived version of the site’s source code reviewed by Reuters.
The FBI last week accused Alibaba of copying Anthropic’s models to build its own AI tools, raising tensions between Washington and Beijing ahead of a meeting next week between the countries’ leaders.
U.S. officials said then that Chinese AI companies were engaged in “malicious” copying of U.S. technology on an “industrial scale.”
The FBI declined to comment Thursday. The National Archives and the White House did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington said the allegations of copying were “unfounded.”
The U.S. government’s use of Qwen emerged amid a global reckoning about AI safety and a U.S. debate over whether regulatory safeguards on AI are needed or would put the country at a competitive disadvantage.
AI experts said the use of the Chinese AI tool on the Federal Register’s website may not have posed national security risks. But it raised questions about whether the federal government was contradicting its own messages about Chinese AI models.
Daniel Castro, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said there was a disconnect between the fierce U.S.-China competition to build superior AI models and a U.S. agency choosing to use a Chinese-made AI model.
“It’s one of the most insane things I’ve ever seen,” he said.
The Federal Register website, which provides a daily list of newly proposed regulations, offered the Qwen model as a tool to browse public comments.
Qwen is an open-weight model, meaning key components of the system are publicly available. Developers can download and modify the model for specific uses, often at lower cost than closed models from companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI.
Security experts say open-weight models can run on a company’s own IT infrastructure, giving organizations greater control over sensitive data that might otherwise be shared with outside providers.
Georgetown Law Professor Anupam Chander said the use of Qwen did not appear to present an immediate cybersecurity risk, though that depends on how the model was trained. The Federal Register website’s content is already public, so the model was not working with sensitive government information.
Senate Democrat Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that the risk depends on whether U.S. data left the government’s security boundary and was processed on Alibaba-controlled systems.
In April, the U.S. House committees on China and homeland security sent a letter to Airbnb, which also uses Qwen, asking for details about its use as part of an investigation into the “national security risks created by the integration” of Chinese AI tools into platforms used by Americans.
Istanbul Airport has overtaken London Heathrow to become the world’s most internationally connected airport, according to a report that also showed five of the top 10 global aviation hubs are in Europe.
Istanbul Airport climbed from second place in 2025 and claimed the top spot for the first time, the Megahubs 2026 report by global travel intelligence partner OAG said Wednesday.
Istanbul has possible connections to 337 global destinations, with national flag carrier Turkish Airlines operating 80% of flights at the airport.
Heathrow fell to second place, as potential connections on the busiest day fell by 6% year-over-year, partly reflecting the ongoing disruption to Middle East schedules, the report said.
Istanbul, meanwhile, recently overtook Heathrow as Europe’s busiest airport by passenger numbers. Industry groups and officials, including the London hub’s CEO himself, had been expecting that to happen this year or the next.
The OAG report showed Amsterdam Schiphol rounded out the top three as it achieved growth in both its connections and the destinations it served.
“The 2026 rankings reflect a global aviation landscape that is still recalibrating after significant disruption,” said John Grant, chief analyst at OAG.
“Istanbul’s rise to the top reflects the strength of Turkish Airlines’ network and the airport’s geographic position as a connecting hub between east and west,” Grant noted.
The rankings are based on the number of possible connections between inbound and outbound flights within a six-hour window on the busiest day of the year, Sunday, Aug. 2, and the number of destinations served from the airport.
Selahattin Bilgen, CEO of Istanbul Airport operator IGA, said the achievement reflected their strategic development, together with the breadth and reach of Turkish Airlines’ network.
“From the outset, IGA Istanbul Airport was designed to accommodate future expansion, supported by Istanbul’s unique geographical position and our ever-growing airline network,” Bilgen noted.
“As we continue to expand our global connectivity and enhance passenger experience, we remain committed to further strengthening Istanbul’s position as one of the world’s leading aviation hubs.”
The gleaming glass-and-steel structure along the Black Sea coast has become one of the most important transit centers in aviation since it became fully operational in April 2019.
The hub can handle 90 million passengers a year in the current phase. The figure is nothing compared to its potential capacity to serve 200 million after completing all phases.
Istanbul Airport served a record-breaking 84.4 million passengers in 2025, making it the second-busiest airport in Europe after Heathrow and the eighth-busiest worldwide. It seeks to reach the 90 million mark this year.
Kuala Lumpur retained fourth position in the OAG ranking and remained the most connected airport in Asia as its served destinations increased to 154.
Chicago O’Hare rose from seventh in 2025 to fifth globally as the most connected airport in the Americas.
The Chicago airport increased its potential connections by 9.8% and expanded its destinations from 297 to 308 to achieve the third-widest international reach in the world, behind Istanbul with 337 destinations and Frankfurt with 310 destinations.
Other European hubs in the top 10 include Frankfurt International Airport in seventh and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in ninth.
The Asia Pacific region dominated the global top 20, accounting for eight of the 20 positions.
Chinese airports made notable gains as Shanghai Pudong rose from 19th to 14th, while Baiyun International jumped from 36th to 19th.
Hong Kong returned to the top 20 by moving from 22nd to 20th.
Kuala Lumpur ranked first in the Low-Cost Carrier Megahubs Index with nearly 15,000 possible low-cost connections.
The Asia Pacific region accounted for 64% of the top 25 low-cost airports.
Low-cost carriers represented 51% of all seats across Southeast Asia compared to a global average of 34%.
The U.S. Department of State said Thursday it had approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom is drawn deeper into war in the Middle East.
A sale would mark a significant policy shift from the U.S., potentially altering the balance of military power in the Middle East and testing Washington’s definition of maintaining its ally Israel’s “qualitative military edge.”
Saudi Arabia made a direct appeal for the jets in early 2025 to U.S. President Donald Trump and has long been interested in Lockheed Martin’s fighter. But Israel, the only country in the region to operate the jets, has objected to the sale.
The estimated $24.3 billion sale would include 48 of the military aircraft and 49 Pratt & Whitney engines along with communications equipment, spare parts and other support items, the State Department said in a statement.
The F-35, built with stealth technology that allows it to evade enemy detection, is considered the world’s most advanced fighter jet.
“The proposed sale will improve Saudi Arabia’s capability to deter current and future threats by strengthening its homeland defense, and improving interoperability with US forces,” the State Department said.
It “will also augment Saudi Arabia’s operational aircraft and enhance its air-to-air, and air-to-ground self-defense capability,” it added.
Saudi Arabia, the largest customer for U.S. arms, has sought the fighter for years as it looks to modernize its air force and counter regional threats, particularly from Iran. The kingdom’s renewed push for what would constitute two squadrons comes as the Trump administration has signaled openness to deepening defense cooperation with Riyadh.
The Saudi Air Force flies a mix of fighter aircraft, including Boeing F-15s, European Tornados and Typhoons.
The F-35 issue has also been intertwined with broader diplomatic efforts. The administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden previously explored providing F-35s to Saudi Arabia as part of a comprehensive deal that would have included Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel, though those efforts ultimately stalled.
Trump has made arms sales to Saudi Arabia a priority since returning to office. In 2025, the United States agreed to sell the kingdom an arms package worth nearly $142 billion, which the White House called “the largest defense cooperation agreement” Washington has ever done.
The State Department has notified Congress about the proposed sale, which would require the approval of U.S. lawmakers.
Saudi Arabia is pursuing ambitious economic and military modernization plans under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 agenda. The kingdom has sought to diversify its defense partnerships in recent years while maintaining its decades-long security relationship with Washington.
Italy announced Thursday it would deploy warships to ensure the safe passage of its commercial ships through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, as maritime security concerns mount off the coast of Yemen.
The country does not intend to wait for a joint decision by the European Union, Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said. “We have the capabilities to protect the passage.”
Crosetto warned that if the waterway were to become impassable, this would have significant consequences for the economy and consumers.
“We cannot allow bureaucratic delays in decision-making to aggravate an already complex situation,” he noted.
Crosetto said he and Italy’s chief of defense staff had agreed to mobilize the navy to prepare “whatever is necessary” to guarantee the secure transit of Italian vessels.
The Bab al-Mandeb connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, one of the most important shipping routes between Europe and Asia.
Fears for shipping in the Red Sea have surged this month after the Iran-aligned Houthis brought the entire west coast of Yemen under their control and captured strategically located islands.
This has given the Houthis virtually unrestricted access to the strait, a development seen as a significant setback for Saudi oil exports rerouted from the Strait of Hormuz and international shipping.
The United States and the European Union have already been attempting to better protect merchant ships from attacks by the rebels through military operations.
Crosetto did not spell out what measures were being considered or what naval assets might be sent to the area.
He said that disruptions to major shipping lanes would drive up transport costs, delay deliveries and ultimately push higher prices onto families and businesses.
“Every economic crisis hits the most vulnerable people hardest, putting social cohesion and the country’s stability at risk,” he said.
The defense minister also highlighted the vulnerability of undersea infrastructure, including data cables and energy links.
“For a major maritime nation such as Italy, monitoring and protecting the seas, both above and below the surface, means safeguarding its security, its prosperity and its future,” he said.
“The Defense Ministry and the Italian Navy will continue to protect the sea, intervening with determination whenever necessary to safeguard national interests and the security of Italians,” he said.
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