Orhan Birdal, GM of the State Airport Authority, said that they expect 10.8% y/y growth in the total number of passengers carried in 2013e. Birdal reiterated Minister Yildirim's comments last week that Istanbul Ataturk Airport will stop serving scheduled flights for commercial airliners, but that rest of its activities will continue once the planned third airport becomes operational. Birdal once again said that Turkey is a constitutional state and they have to and will consider TAV's losses due to the planned third airport. Lastly, in response to a question, Birdal indicated that whether Turkish Airlines will have a seperate terminal in the new airport is an issue that will be resolved between the airport terminal operator and Turkish Airlines.
In line with Birdal's comments, we also expect low-teens passenger growth in 2013 for the whole sector. On the other hand, Birdal's comments about planned third airport and Istanbul Ataturk are broadly a reiteration of Minister Yildirim's comments last week and come as no surprise. We expect the comments to have a limited impact on listed aviation stocks.
Source: bne