Turkish airports maintained a positive trend in the number of passengers hosted in August, according to aviation data, bringing the count to nearly 155 million in the first eight months.
Moreover, a top official said Monday that the number of passengers served at two major air hubs in Istanbul reached as much as 95% of the Turkish population from January through August, at nearly 81 million.
The airports across the country welcomed 25.2 million passengers in August, including transit travelers, marking a 1.9% increase from the same month last year, according to Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.
The figures, released by the State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI), revealed that 9.2 million passengers took domestic flights, while nearly 16 million traveled on international routes.
In addition to passenger growth, Turkish airports served 231,699 planes in August, which includes overflights, representing a 2% rise compared to the previous year. Air cargo traffic also saw a significant increase, totaling 493,183 tons.
Year-to-date, from January to the end of August, Türkiye’s airports have served approximately 154.9 million passengers, reflecting an 8.4% increase compared to the same period last year, the minister informed in a written statement.
“While our airports served 64.7 million passengers on domestic flights and 90.1 million passengers on international flights, 154.93 million passengers, including direct transit passengers, used our airports,” Uraloğlu said.
“The number of passengers served increased by 6.9% on domestic flights, 9.7% on international flights and 8.4% in total passenger traffic compared to the same period of the previous year,” he added.
The total number of flights during this timeframe exceeded 1.5 million, including overflights. This marked a 6.3% increase when compared to the same period of 2023.
Moreover, evaluating the passenger data at the two largest airports within the country – Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport – it was revealed they played a crucial role in the growth observed.
Istanbul Airport welcomed 7.7 million passengers last month, a 1% increase from August last year, and managed 46,933 flights. Meanwhile, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, located on Istanbul’s Anatolian side, reported 3.9 million passengers and 21,468 flights.
The two airports handled around 11.6 million passengers last month, or over 45% of the country’s total air passengers.
At the same time, the data shared by the ministry showed the number of passengers hosted at airports in major tourism destinations in the country, including Izmir, Muğla and Antalya, surpassed 41 million in eight months.
