Air passenger traffic surges by 8.3% in January
THE AIR passenger traffic in Türkiye as of the end of January surged by 8.3% compared to the same month last year, reaching 14.76 million people, the recent data released by the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DMHİ) showed.
During the month, some 7.06 million passengers traveled on domestic flights, alongside 7.7 million international passengers, according to the data.
Meanwhile, total aircraft traffic, including transit overflights, increased by 5.6% to 155,221 units during the same period.
In January, the total air cargo volume increased by 27.7% nationwide in Türkiye, reaching 153,775 tons, of which 8,131 tons were on domestic flights and 145,644 tons were on international ones.
Moreover, the total cargo traffic, including baggage, cargo and mail nationwide, increased by 15.5% to 337,573 tons.
Türkiye has seen a rise in the number of planes passing through its airspace in recent years, as it saw 2.1 million flights in total in 2023, or about one airplane every 15 seconds, according to official figures shared by DHMİ last month.
Aviation experts say the rise is thanks to the many investments made in the country’s civil aviation infrastructure.
As of the end of 2023, 67% of the airplanes landing and taking off were commercial flights, with the number leaping 16.3% year-over-year to 1.3 million, according to the data.
The passenger count in the country’s secondlargest air hub, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, which opened its second runway at the end of 2023, reached its highest-ever figure last year with 37.1 million, it announced earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu recently also announced Istanbul Airport was planning to install a system that would enable three aircraft to independently land and take off simultaneously, which would make Türkiye a second country after the United States to operate such a system.