Turkish Airport Second Largest In Country

Three companies have announced their intent to bid for Turkey's second largest airport, in a deal that is estimated to be worth up to $2.7 billion. The bids, due Thursday, are to manage Antalya Airport's two international terminals and also expand and run the domestic terminal.

Companies throwing their hats in the ring include TAV Airports Holding, which currently operates Istanbul airport; Turkey's IC Holding, in partnership with Germany's Fraport; and Turkey's Celebi Airport Services, which has said it will bid either with Austria's Flughafen Wien or with Singapore-based Changi Airport.

Flughafen Wien has also expressed interest separately, according to Reuters. That company had agreed last year to buy Slovakia's Bratislava airport but the purchase was blocked by a newly seated government.

AYT services tourist locations on the Mediterranean coast and handled 14.6 million passengers, more than 90 percent of whom are associated with the tourism industry in some form or fashion. It is second to Istanbul only in passenger capacity.

Turkey's tourism suffered by declining six percent in 2006 as a result of an avian flu outbreak, a Kurdish bombing campaign and violence due to cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.

2007 is already showing improvements with a 26 percent increase in tourist activity.

FMI: www.aytport.com