Ever wonder what it’s like to manage a massive airport that functions almost like its own city?
Welcoming more than 80 million passengers a year, Istanbul Airport stands as Europe’s busiest hub, based on average daily flights, according to a November report by the European Air Traffic Safety Organization (EUROCONTROL).
It was also recently named the world’s most connected airport in a 2025 analysis by the Airports Council International (ACI) Europe, offering direct flights to around 340 destinations, according to Istanbul Airport’s CEO, Selahattin Bilgen.
“The last 10 years of my life can be described as 90 percent work,” he told Newsweek. “My typical day starts with waking up and checking my messages and emails.”
But even with the demands of running a huge international hub, family is an anchor for him.
“I wake up around 7:30 a.m. because family is very important for me,” Bilgen said. “My son is 16, my daughter is eight years old, and before they go to school, we usually have breakfast together or spend some time, and afterwards I prepare to go to work.”
From there, the CEO’s day accelerates quickly. “On a typical day, I reach my office around 9:30 a.m., usually for discussions, meetings, and conference calls,” he said.
His leadership style is rooted in visibility and connection. “I believe in the importance of direct communication and have an open-door policy to the maximum extent possible. So, that’s why I spend extensive time at the office, having direct discussions and meetings with my colleagues as much as possible.”
And while his workday stretches long, “at the end of the day, I start doing my own tasks, so I sit down and review any documents I have to read, do other planning, and I leave the office around usually 8:30 or 9 p.m. I try to be at home before 10 p.m.” before his children go to bed.
“After they sleep, I read emails and provide necessary approvals for the things that I have to do” and he insists he sleeps soundly.
“The thing is, I do not sleep before I complete everything I have to do that day,” he said. “So, that’s why I go to bed very late…usually between 1 and 2 a.m.”
He sleeps “very well because I have no regrets,” the CEO says. “I get tired and I complete everything I have to do during the day…I’m fully relieved, so I have no problems with sleeping.”
Despite the grueling pace, the airport itself remains a place of fascination and pride. “I also enjoy walking around the airport, especially on weekends…just make sure everything’s running. It’s really good to see the result of your efforts in a material form,” he said.
The scope of what he oversees is immense. Istanbul Airport is “like a city,” he said. “We have our baggage system, a recycling facility, our operation center, a firefighting department, the electrics department, a solar power plant, with tens of thousands of panels. So, it’s really good to observe and walk around and take it all in.”
The job also brings its share of unusual moments—often involving VIP passengers in a rush. Most of the unexpected calls, he said, come from “the CEOs of large institutions,” and other senior executives asking if he can hold a departing aircraft. For example, they’d say they’re “only 10 minutes to my flight, can you help me?” he said.
He recalled: “Even the minister of energy of a country called me once—he wanted some special treatment during his airport visit.”
One incident stands out even more. About 10 months ago, airport staff discovered “a bag full of ash,” Bilgen said, which “was the ash of someone’s father.”
The owner has still not been found. “They left it in the airport, and we still have yet to find that person,” he said. Calling it “a real strange experience,” Bilgen added, “we’re still keeping it because it’s really important.”
For Bilgen, the job is not merely a career but a calling. “Work is not separate from my life—that’s how I perceive it,” he said. “I really take it as my own…my job is my life, but at the end of the day, it really fits my expectations and interests as well.”
After years of relentless growth and expansion, he now hopes to usher in a new era of stability.
“I love social interaction, I love learning new things and building up new structures, and this position has enabled me to achieve all those things,” he said. “I’m quite satisfied and happy with what I achieved at work. But my goal is to stabilize things a little bit because for the last 10 years, our team has been running very fast.”
He continued: “Our company has been one of the largest start-ups, and that has required devotion and high resilience. Now my goal is to convert the company to a more stabilized corporate structure and governance. To continue our high performance, we have to be more ‘private life friendly’…having 11,000 employees…I think we are on the right track.”
Despite the pressures of the role, Bilgen is certain of one thing. “If I was born again, I would 100 percent choose the same route, the same job,” he said.
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