The airport will not be fully opened before the end of the year, two months ahead of schedule, October 29, a Turkish newspaper reported on Saturday.
The airport was due to open on October 29 to coincide with the anniversary of the Turkish Republic on this day in 1923, but the airport's general manager Kadri Samsonlo said the opening would be partial.
"We postponed the great transfer from Ataturk airport to December 31," the newspaper Hurriyet was quoted as telling journalists during a visit to the new airport.
Last month, Turkish authorities arrested dozens of hundreds protesting the working conditions at the new airport, and resumed work amid heavy police deployments, trade unions said.
The company said the implementation of the project, the measures taken to improve working conditions, as well as cleaning the living areas, which workers say they are covered with bed bugs.
