New Istanbul airport will be fully open March 3

Istanbul's new airport will be fully operational March 3, Turkey's Milliyet newspaper reported Thursday, after the US$12b project was twice hit by delays. The airport, which officials say will be one of the world's busiest, was declared open in October by president Recep Tayyip Erdogan but only a handful of flights have been operating from the new site since then. Its full operation was first delayed to January, in a setback for the govt which has hailed it as a centrepiece of the construction boom that has driven strong economic growth under Erdogan's 15-year rule. Citing a letter sent by airport authorities, Milliyet said the date had been pushed back again until early March. Videos posted on social media since then have shown rain leaking heavily into a waterlogged passenger terminal, and a flooded car park at the new airport. <br/>