Opening of Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport to traffic is based on the establishment of Civil Aviation Vocational Highschool (SHMYO), which is the foundation of Eskişehir Technical University, Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, in 1986. While the basic mission of the airport opened to traffic with the name “Eskişehir Anadolu Airport” in 1989 was to conduct the educational activities of Flight Training and Air Traffic Control Departments of SHMYO, over years, air transport service has also become possible for the people of the region. Thus in the aforementioned period airline companies of Imsık Air and Top Air organized scheduled flights on the lines İstanbul-Eskişehir-Bodrum and İstanbul-Eskişehir via “Eskişehir Anadolu Airport”.
The airport primarily aimed to meet training activities of the Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics and national and international air travel demand that may occur in Eskişehir and the surrounding provinces.
The stakeholders of Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport has always been aware of the potential of this airport in air transportation although its main mission is seen as aviation training. In this context upon the intense demands of people living in Eskişehir and its close regions, our compatriots in Belgium, non-governmental organizations and the business world the Airport was brought to the appropriate standards for international flights in 2005 by initiating necessary studies by University. Consequently the Airport was declared as temporary air border crossing with Ministry Approval dated 19/09/2005 and the same year first international flights started on Eskişehir-Brüksel line. On the other hand, at various times scheduled flights were arranged by Turkish Airlines on İstanbul-Eskişehir, by Bora Jet on İstanbul-Eskişehir-İzmir line. The Airport serves not only Eskişehir but also the region within the scope of aviation activities like scheduled and unscheduled passenger transport, patient transport, fire fighting, flights of government officials and air taxi besides training flights since 1989 when it opened to traffic.
Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport meeting the requirements under international and national regulations updated over time, became the 21st airport to be licensed by Civil Aviation General Directorate under “Airport Construction, Operation and Certification Regulation (SHY-14A)” in 2007. The Airport thus documented as safe and secure in terms of regulations in our country in addition to meeting International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, became the the first and only university airport with this license in the world
On the other hand the infrastructure of the Airport in areas such as security, navigation, search and rescue, fire and winter weather fighting further strengthened with various investment projects between 2008 and 2010. A new infrastructure development project was carried out in 2011 taking into account the application of airline companies that want to meet the passenger demand between Belgium, Germany, France, Istanbul and Eskişehir with larger planes and the new demands of the aforementioned stakeholders. In this context Runway-Apron-Taxi road (PAT) areas were enlarged and their strength was increased. Runway dimensions of 3000 meters long and 45 meters wide have been reached, apron expansion works have also been completed to serve passenger traffic.
The Airport open to traffic by name “Eskişehir Anadolu Airport” until 2015, took the name of “Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport” with the decision of the Council of Ministers No. 7758 published in the Official Gazette dated 09.07.2015 and No. 29411 and was connected to Eskişehir Technical University University with law No. 7141 published in the Official Gazette dated 18.05.2018. Eskişehir Technical University successfully continues airport domestic and international line operations, to ensure safety, security and public health with academically and operationally competent human resources and the infrastructure it has established and developed. Passenger traffic values for the last five years of Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport providing services within the scope of flight trainings, scheduled/unscheduled domestic and international passenger transport, fire extinguishing, air taxi, ambulance and VIP/CIP flights are seen in the graph in Figure 1. Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport reached a total of one hundred thousand passengers for the first time mainly international passengers in 2018. Leading airlines and top destinations in realization of the relevant flights are shown in Figure 2. Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport complying with all other regulations in a timely and successful manner during the pandemic period also met the standards within the scope of Airport Pandemic Measures and Certification Circular and was qualified to receive “Airport Pandemic Certificate” in 04.06.2020. Eskişehir Hasan Polatkan Airport was determined as a permanent border gate open to international entry-exit with Presidential decision dated 21.10.2020 No. 3115.Today, there are international flights to six flight destinations (Brussels, Ostent/Brugge, Lyon, Amsterdam, Düsseldorf and Cologne) in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and France. The number of passenger traffic in 2021 has reached 27,000 (as of 16 July 2021), traffic continues increasingly in the summer period.
Eskişehir Technical University with more than 35 years of knowledge and experience that it has accumulated both academically and operationally with Flight Training, Air Traffic Control, Aircraft Airframe and Powerplant Maintenance, Avionics, and Aviation Management undergraduate departments and graduate programs within Faculty of Aeronautics and Astronautics, manages the Airport safely, securely, effectively and efficiently and is determined to continue to manage in a way that will benefit the people of Eskişehir and the region as well as educational activities.
Within the Hasan Polatkan International Airport, which has been managing by Eskisehir Technical University, the following activities have been carrying out:
- Eskişehir Technical University flight trainings
- VIP/CIP flights
- Air taxi and ambulance flights
- Scheduled/Non-scheduled domestic line passenger transport flights
- Scheduled/Non-scheduled international passenger transport flights
✉ Airport Management: hph@eskisehir.edu.tr
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