How far back does your experience in aviation go?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: As soon as I graduated from high school in 1977 I started to work at the Ankara Esenboğa Airport as an electrician while I was also studying electrical engineering at the Ankara Gazi University. After the Ankara Esenboğa and Antalya airports I began to work at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport. In 2004 I retired and I joined the TAV family.

You have had the opportunity to closely witness the process before and after construction of the Istanbul Atatürk Airport’s new International Terminal, built on the “Build-Operate-Transfer” model. In what way did that process influence the aviation sector?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: I believe that the most important point in that process was when the benefits of the Build-Operate-Transfer model were being debated and awareness was created within public management; that period lasted ten years. In this sense TAV brought to life the internal dynamics of Turkish civil aviation and made it possible for this process to become a sector. In other words, TAV was not only a pioneer in this sector but it actually created this sector. This success has enabled the modernization of many airports without spending any public funds. The Istanbul Atatürk Airport also changed a great deal through the Build-Operate-Transfer model. First of all the geography of the airport changed. Secondly, it became easier to solve difficult problems encountered by the management. My office is situated in an area that was once called “Kargasekmez,” a kind of slum area where the buildings were in a terrible state and people would get lost. In line with procedures and without creating any burdens for the state, the junk was sold and the area was cleared and delivered to TAV on time, so that the project could begin. When you see pictures of the Kargasekmez area before it was demolished, you understand how far the Istanbul Atatürk Airport’s International Terminal has come. Everyone, from public bodies to sub-contractors fulfilled their duties enthusiastically and an international terminal that is the pride and joy of Turkey was constructed.

“There isn’t a single airport in the world that is complete from the point of view of its construction and technology. All airports are obliged to develop and renew themselves continuously, in order provide better services and comfort to their passengers and clients. In parallel with developments in the aviation sector, all airports need to have a sustainable capacity increase.” “In our globalized world, aviation has become as important a motivator as information technologies. An approach has developed based on fierce competition in which all roads lead to the passenger. The passenger is the main focus. As the TAV Istanbul team, we have a work philosophy that is centered on customer satisfaction.”

How did you join TAV Airports?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: After I retired I intended to work in the private sector. I evaluated the offers I received and in 2004 I decided to join TAV in order to work on the Iran project. I was in Iran for four months. However, when the project in Iran was suspended because of well-known reasons, I returned to Istanbul.

What has changed in the aviation sector since you joined it in 1978?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: In our globalized world, aviation has become as important a motivator as information technologies. Since the 1970s, passenger needs have undergone changes based on comfort, speed and safety. In Turkey too, an evolution has been experienced in civil aviation since those years and it is ongoing. An approach has developed based on fierce competition in which all roads lead to the passenger. The passenger is the main focus. As in all other sectors, the main priority is customer satisfaction; that is to say, the passenger is the master of the sector. The services that passengers benefit from, from the moment they leave their home up to their destination, are offered by many companies and organizations. The burden in this sector is therefore not carried by a single organization. When we look at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport, services on offer begin from municipal services and extend to the police on duty at the entrance of the airport, to the Ministry of Finance Accounting Department personnel selling transaction stamps, handling companies, fuel supply companies, catering companies, to the air traffic services provided by the State Airport Authority and the health services provided at the terminal or at any stage of the flight. The commercialization and liberalization trend that began in the 1980s placed the passenger or the terminal user at the center of the endeavor. After all, the only resource of the sector lies in the money spent on the ticket, the shopping done and the interest shown by passengers.
The times when civil servants used to say, “This is all I can do, I have no control,” are over. The airport, which has a very complex structure, needs to work like clockwork and to offer passengers the very best service. Passenger satisfaction is the objective!

How would you describe TAV Airports’ activity?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: We can describe it as the coordination of many service providers in a way that does not permit any errors. It is the coordination of a system where all the service elements have to function on the basis of efficiency and customer satisfaction. Therefore, it is not possible to explain this activity by describing only TAV Airports or its affiliates. It also involves the establishment of good and strong relations with many public bodies and private sector companies and organizations. All the links in this chain play a very important role in customer satisfaction. Moreover, both operationally and academically, TAV is well ahead of the curve in the field of airport operations. TAV has a team that thinks innovatively and develops knowledge, sharing and implementing it.

If you compare the present with the past, in what way do you think that there need to be developments in terms of customer satisfaction?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: From the point of view of regulations and literature, as well as of job processes, a great deal of distance has been covered from the 1970s to 2009. In terms of focusing on passengers a very important point has been reached by public bodies, service providers and subcontractors. However, in order to be able to compete worldwide, we need to carry on with the knowledge that it is necessary to develop further. There is a need to redefine authority in airports and in so doing passengers need to become the focus. This approach will bring about great momentum in the development of civil aviation. There is no doubt that there is need for restructuring.

What is the daily rhythm like at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: From the point of view of air traffic, 18.5 hours a day are busy and the remaining 5.5 are quieter. Throughout the day there are varying waves of arrivals and departures. As a result, life continues 24 hours a day at the Istanbul Atatürk Airport. There are many jobs that need to be done wherever there are people that range from the cleaning of toilets to health services and food and beverage services. These are things that need to be followed up continuously by the TAV Istanbul team. A 24 hour period contains a variety of surprises: you can never know where or when a problem will arise, a complaint will be made or a mishap will take place. But we keep all possibilities under consideration and we are always ready to solve problems.

A proactive attitude must be of great importance…

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: Indeed, the terminal operation begins where municipal services end and ends when the aircraft establishes contact with the tower. All activities depend on pre-determined processes and procedures. Just as we have plans for everything, our duty includes also predicting possible problems and taking the necessary precautions. For example today, because of the ongoing expansion project we have closed down three bridges and four gates in the domestic terminal. We have re-organized bridge and gate distribution so that passengers will not suffer. We continue to offer all of our services by using our resources more efficiently, so that there will not be any change in traffic. So, just as you are living the time you have planned, you also have to plan the forthcoming processes.

What are the major features distinguishing Istanbul Atatürk Airport from other airports?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: Istanbul Atatürk Airport is the starting point, the pioneer of Turkish civil aviation. If we are going to talk about civil aviation, we need to first talk about the Istanbul Atatürk Airport. In comparison with the passenger profile of other airports in Turkey, the passenger profile of the Atatürk Airport is multi-lingual, multi-cultural and more complex, because people from many more nations pass through it. During those 24 hours we have to meet the needs of people from many different cultures. Furthermore, the Istanbul Atatürk Airport is among the fastest developing airports of Europe. This development speed will continue into the future as well, in parallel with the potential of Istanbul. When we take into consideration European metropolises such as London and Paris, we encounter figures such as over 100 million a year. Istanbul’s passenger numbers are around 30 million, but Istanbul has much greater potential than that. The General Secretary of Urban Age recently made the statement: “There are two metropolises in the real sense of the word in Europe; one is London and the other is Istanbul. Berlin has lost that opportunity, because when the two Berlins merged the city was not able to meet expectations regarding commercial and economic development.” And the person making this statement was from Berlin! We therefore must be ready to meet changing passenger and air transportation demands by continually changing and developing.

Are you continuing to pursue collaborations to promote Istanbul Atatürk Airport?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: Istanbul and the Istanbul Atatürk Airport need to be better promoted especially in the Far East and in the countries of Southeast Asia. In the near future we are going to collaborate with Turkish Airlines with this aim. Moreover, as the TAV Group we participate in fairs all over the world to promote not only Istanbul but also Ankara, Izmir, Alanya and the other airports we operate abroad. Promotional activities need to be carried out in collaboration with all public and private sector organizations operating in the field of tourism and transportation. What we have is a very great potential and we need to put it to the best possible use.

Can you give us information on destinations and passenger numbers?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: As of August 2009, the number of destinations only for passenger planes leaving from the Atatürk Airport has reached 210. There are 131 destinations to which over 55 flights a month take place. The passenger numbers for 2008 were 28,000,533. When we look at passenger numbers for 2009, we see that there has been a general decrease, deriving from the economic situation experienced all over the world. As a result of Turkish Airlines’ Star Alliance membership, the expansion of its fleet and increase of its destinations, the number of transit passengers in the January-August period of 2009 has increased by 34% in respect to the same period last year. During this period there was a decrease of 4% in the total number of domestic passengers and an increase of 5% in the total number of international passengers.

What do you think about the Istanbul Atatürk Airport’s need for expansion?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: There isn’t a single airport in the world that is complete from the point of view of its construction and technology. All airports are obliged to develop and renew themselves continuously. In parallel to developments in the aviation sector, like all other airports, the Istanbul Atatürk Airport also needs to have a sustainable capacity increase because important increases are being registered in both aircraft movements and in passenger numbers. In this sense we do not have any problems on the terminal side; but on the air side of the operation we have some bottlenecks from the point of view of runway configurations, as well as rapid exit taxi ways from runways, the number of runways and of aircraft parking places on the apron. We need to carry out radical work on the air side in order to overcome these bottlenecks. Over the past few years capacity assessment and establishment work for the “Euro Control” organization has been carried out twice at the State Airport Authority. As a result of these analyses, the required projects have been identified. The aviation sector, which is the food source for 37 sectors, is undergoing continuous growth and in this sense the air space of Istanbul is becoming more and more important. Our air traffic resources are a kind of national asset that need to be used properly! This resource needs to be protected and optimized.

Can you tell us about the scope of these projects?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: The Istanbul Atatürk Airport is currently in the midst of an expansion project and a development project. Within the scope of the expansion project we are adding new gates and bridges to the domestic terminal. Since 2003 there have been quite radical developments in domestic travel. The number of domestic destinations has reached 36. It has therefore been planned to increase the number of bridges from 9 to 15. Moreover, three bridges and four “bus gates” for the use of aircraft parked far from the terminal are also being added to the international terminal. There will therefore also be space for new CIP lounges, cafes, bars, restaurants and duty free stores in the international terminal. In short, the new construction will have a seating area of 6,600 square meters, a service floor and mezzanines for arrivals and departures. We are also enlarging the VIP area and the Airport Hotel. We are aiming to complete this expansion work, carried out by TAV Construction, by the end of 2009. In the meantime, in addition to the existing multi-storey car park with a 7076 vehicle capacity, in July we also inaugurated an outdoor car park with a capacity for 1250. Within the scope of the development project, there is the renovation of a large number of systems and equipments, such as passenger bridges, escalators, air conditioning systems and security equipment, due to their economic life span.

How many people are there in the Istanbul Atatürk Airport who have name tags?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: Close to 500 organizations, companies and corporate bodies have name tags. The number of employees working for these various organizations is over 30,000. Studies show that the Istanbul Atatürk Airport feeds 37 sub-sectors. This is quite normal, because if a tourist coming to Turkey eats four olives for breakfast, this affects directly producers located in the area from Kuşadası to Edremit.

What would you like to see in the Istanbul Atatürk Airport in five years’ time?

KEMAL ÜNLÜ: In five years’ time I want to see that both air traffic resources and all national resources in the sector are optimized and used for the benefit of Turkey; that everything is based on customer satisfaction with all its aspects, that an airport organization has been developed where passenger operations and airline operations have eased.