Turkish airports see 18.8M passengers in May

ANKARA

Turkish airports in May welcomed 18.8 million air passengers, including transit passengers, the country's airports authority announced on Thursday.

May figures rose 18.7% year-on-year and 10% compared to the same month of 2019, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit Türkiye, according to State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI) data.

Some 8.2 million passengers took domestic flights in May, while 10.6 million traveled to other countries.

Türkiye's airports served 185,689 planes, including 76,003 on domestic routes and 69,654 on international ones. The numbers include overflights in May, a 12.3% rise from last year. The directorate added that the cargo traffic last month amounted to 340,356 tons.

Istanbul Airport welcomed 6.56 million passengers on international and domestic routes in May, with 44,080 airplanes. Türkiye's second-busiest hub, Sabiha Gokcen Airport located on Istanbul’s Anatolian side, saw 3.05 million passengers and 18,742 planes.

5-month figures

Between January and May, the number of passengers using Türkiye's airports, including transit passengers, hit 73.47 million. The five-month figure surged 28.6% from the previous year.

Plane traffic, including overflights, was at 786,043 in the first five months of this year, surging 22.3% year-on-year, while air cargo traffic climbed to 1.46 million tons.

Türkiye's two busiest air hubs, Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport, both in Istanbul, welcomed 42.8 million passengers from January to May.

Istanbul Airport saw 29.07 million passengers, with 6.85 million on domestic routes and 22.2 million on international flights. The mega-airport served 198,659 flights in the five months through May. Sabiha Gokcen Airport attracted 13.73 million passengers, including 6.46 million domestic and 7.27 million international.