This issue of NIQ-Turkey is about the regulation of civil aviation in Turkey and beyond. Civil aviation is of course a global business with most of the rules and standards being defined at international levels (UN, EU, USA). And Turkey, with its flag carrier Turkish Airlines, has established itself as a significant global player. Istanbul Airport is now a global hub. And the Turkish airspace accounts for a big chunk of global air transport, especially because of the traffic from the Middle Eastern global carriers (Emirates, Qatar Airways, Etihad). All this warrants a closer look at how civil aviation in Turkey is regulated and governed.
This issue is structured along the typical aviation value chain, whereby one distinguishes between airports (where planes take off and land again), airlines (carriers) and air traffic control.
Burak Keskin, in his contribution about airport regulation in Turkey, presents both airport slot and ground-handling regulation. He also covers passenger rights regulation, even from a technical point of view this regulation rather pertains to airlines.
In their contribution, Ömer Faruk Erol and Talha Kaan first take a broader and historical view on aviation regulation in Turkey, to subsequently focus on the economic regulation of civil airlines.
The more technical contribution of Engin Zeki discusses air traffic management regulation in Turkey within the context of broader aviation regulation but also the European Union’s Single European Sky initiative. The contribution concludes with some considerations about the evolving technologies of air traffic management.
The fourth, synthetic article by myself underscores the profoundly systemic nature of aviation and therefore stresses the importance of an equally systemic approach to regulation, especially in light of the new challenges of decarbonization and digitalization.
Matthias Finger
Professor, İTÜ, and Director of the Istanbul Center for Regulation
