Journalist Saymaz: They appointed managers to unopened airports

Sözcü columnist İsmail Saymaz, following his articles on the staffing practices at the State Airports Authority (DHMİ), wrote today that managers are being appointed to airports that have not yet opened.

Stating, "DHMİ has invented yet another method that will write its name in the history of cronyism in golden letters. They are sending favored cronies as managers to airports that have not even opened yet," Saymaz noted the following in his article:

“As you know, I have been writing about the staffing practices at DHMİ for some time.

General Manager Hüseyin Keskin is exploiting a loophole in the Personnel Promotion and Title Change Regulation to promote his cronies.

According to the regulation, no promotion exam is required for airport manager and assistant manager positions.

Favored cronies are first made assistant managers. Then, they are brought to lower-level positions, effectively being appointed to roles like chief, chief engineer, and branch manager, which would normally require exams and qualifications.

For these positions, in addition to an exam, requirements include graduating from a four-year university and having two years of experience as a chief controller or AIM chief."

Listing the managers appointed to unopened airports in his article, Saymaz continued:

"An example? Chief Hakan Çöl was appointed as the manager of Isparta - Burdur Airport in 2020.

A day later, he was made an Operations Branch Manager. The BTS (United Transport Workers' Union) had the appointment canceled. DHMİ, which should have reinstated Çöl to his former position, appointed him as the manager of the unopened Yozgat Airport on November 30. However, since this airport has not opened, he continues his duty at DHMİ.

On the same day… Hasan Hakan Karakuş was made the manager of the unopened Gümüşhane - Bayburt Airport. Karakuş had been appointed as an assistant chief manager at Trabzon Airport while he was a chief. A few days later, he was made a branch manager. When the court canceled the appointment, he became the manager of Gümüşhane-Bayburt Airport. Even the appointment letter can be considered a confession of cronyism.

The letter reads as follows: ‘It has been decided to cancel Karakuş's appointment as branch manager. Although he should have been appointed to the Çanakkale Airport Manager position, since the position is full, it has been deemed appropriate to appoint him to the vacant airport manager position under the Gümüşhane - Bayburt Airport Directorate, and he will serve under the Trabzon Airport Chief Directorate until the construction process of the airport, which is still ongoing, is completed.’”

News Source: 12punto