The first flight from Istanbul's centrepiece new airport after the massive transfer of aviation equipment from the previous passenger hub, is scheduled to take off on Saturday.
"Our transport has been largely completed. Closed highways are reopened for traffic," national flag carrier Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi tweeted on Saturday.
 The new Istanbul Airport is to replace the overcrowded Ataturk International Airport, opened in 1933, some 40 kilometres to the south. Ataturk will remain open for cargo operations.
 Both hubs are currently closed to general air traffic. Turkish Airlines is scheduled to make the first flight since the transfer, to the capital Ankara, at 2 pm (1100 GMT).
International carriers plan to start flights from the new airport by midnight Saturday. Hundreds of trucks have been carrying aviation equipment to the new airport from Ataturk since early Friday.
Three main highways were temporarily closed to traffic late on Friday. On the Asian side of Istanbul, a second international hub, the Sabiha Gokcen Airport remains operational.
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