E-visas to ease Turkish airport congestion

By Kevin Rozario |

The outdated visa-on-arrival system at Turkish airports is being scrapped with new online e-visas now coming into force. The new system – with lower fees than at present – is expected to boost tourism traffic and ease airport congestion.

 

In accordance with the new Law on Foreigners, obtaining visas on arrival started to be phased out last week but border authorities will maintain existing procedures for a transitional period which is expected to include the 2014 tourism season.

Visas for tourism or business are now obtainable on line at www.evisa.gov.tr and as of 11 April arrangements have also been made to allow foreign visitors to obtain e-visas from authorised airline offices, including those companies’ offices in airports.

 

In the interim, visitors arriving to Turkey without visas can obtain their e-visas via interactive kiosks in Turkish airports. Obtaining visas at airports will no longer be possible after 31 December according to information from Pegasus Airlines.  So far, citizens from 94 countries are eligible to apply for an e-visas.

 

TRAFFIC EXPLOSION

Passenger traffic to Turkey has boomed in recent years with Istanbul Ataturk (IST) seeing one of the fastest rates of growth in the decade to 2013. Passengers at the airport last year reached 51.3m, up +13.8%, pushing it past Madrid to become the fifth busiest hub in Europe.

 

The country’s dominant carrier, Turkish Airlines, has driven the rise and last year accounted for more than 75% of all seat capacity at IST according to analyst OAG.

 

The geographical spread of Turkish Airlines’ network over the past 10 years has also been impressive. From 90 destinations in April 2004 it reached 199 destinations by April 2013, mostly by building networks to the southern and eastern hemispheres.

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