Zafer Airport's 5-month bill revealed! 155 million TL to be paid...

The passenger guarantee practice at Zafer Airport has come to the agenda once again. CHP Zonguldak Deputy Deniz Yavuzyılmaz stated in an assessment on his social media account that passenger numbers for the first five months of 2026 remained far below the guarantee. Yavuzyılmaz stated that although the number of guaranteed departing passengers in this period was 549 thousand 55, only 17 thousand 766 people used the airport.

While noting that the difference between the guaranteed passengers and the actual passengers was 531 thousand 289, it was pointed out that this deviation reached 96.76 percent. Thus, it was reported that the state would pay the company approximately 2 million 891 thousand 632 euros due to the passenger guarantee, which corresponds to 155 million liras at the current exchange rate.

Zafer Airport construction cost:
50 million Euro

Date of transfer to the public: 2044

Guarantee payment to be made to the company until 2044: 208 million Euro

According to official DHMİ statistics;

In the first 5 months of 2026, on domestic and international lines??

Total number of arriving and departing passengers:
35,533

Departing…

— Deniz Yavuzyılmaz (@yavuzyilmazd) June 20, 2026

The statements made by Yavuzyılmaz were as follows:

"In its 15th year, Zafer Airport, which the AKP opened with shouts of victory, has once again become the champion of public loss for the 15th time in a row.

In the first 5 months of 2026; the number of guaranteed departing passengers was 549,055, the number of actual departing passengers was 17,766, and the difference (missing passengers) was 531,289. The margin of error is 96.76 percent.

The guarantee payment the Treasury will make to the company is 2 million 891 thousand 632 euros. At the current exchange rate, that is 155 million liras. This is called making the citizen pay the bill for the handouts given to cronies."

Stating that passenger guarantee payments are made based on departing passengers according to the contract, Yavuzyılmaz claimed that public resources were being wasted. It was stated that the total number of passengers on domestic and international lines at the airport in the first five months was 35 thousand 533, and 17 thousand 766 of these consisted of departing passengers.

On the other hand, sharing that the construction cost of Zafer Airport was 50 million euros, Yavuzyılmaz stated that the transfer of the airport to the public would take place in 2044 and claimed that a total of 208 million euros in guarantee payments would be made to the company until 2044.

News Source: 12punto