Zafer Airport fiasco: Millions of euros in losses

CHP Deputy Chairman and Head of Energy Policies Deniz Yavuzyılmaz shared striking data regarding Zafer Airport, which was built in Kütahya using the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.

According to Yavuzyılmaz's statement, while a guarantee of 658 thousand 866 passengers was given to the company for just the month of January 2025, the actual number of passengers using this airport was only 18 thousand 686. The realization rate remained limited to 2.8 percent.

Stating that the public treasury has suffered millions of euros in losses due to the difference between the guaranteed and actual passenger numbers, Yavuzyılmaz emphasized that this money comes out of the citizens' pockets.

Stating that 159 million 709 thousand liras will be paid to the company within the scope of the guaranteed passenger numbers for just the first 6 months of 2025, Yavuzyılmaz included the Court of Accounts report and DHMİ statistics in his social media post, using the following expressions:

"The facts that the AK Party tries to hide from the attention of the citizens-32!

Zafer Airport, built with the AK Party-style Build-Operate-Transfer model, was empty again in the first half of 2025.

In the first 6 months of 2025;

Guaranteed number of passengers: 658,866

Actual number of passengers: 18,686

Margin of error: 97.16%

Guarantee payment the treasury will make to the company: 3,395,906 Euros

159 Million 709 Thousand Liras at the current exchange rate

This is what you call the siphoning of public resources!

Source: Court of Accounts, DHMİ official statistics

Zafer Airport construction cost:

50 million Euros

Guarantee payment made to the company between 2012-2025 (6 months): 76 million Euros

Date of transfer to the public: 2044

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

According to DHMİ official statistics,

At Zafer Airport, in the first 6 months of 2025, on domestic and international lines

Total number of arriving and departing passengers:

37,372

Number of departing passengers:

37,372/2= 18,686 (approximately)

Note: According to the contract, guarantee payments are made based on the number of departing passengers."

News Source: 12punto