Air traffic in Turkey continues to surge

ANKARA - Anadolu Agency

While the intra-Turkey flights rose 17 percent in August, the number of passengers boarding international flights jumped 8.9 percent. DHA photo

Air traffic grew 10.4 percent while the number of air passengers increased 15.2 percent in Turkey in August compared to the same month the previous year, according to flight figures for August from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority of Turkey.

While the number of passengers on domestic flights rose 17 percent to 66,724 in August, the number of passengers boarding international flights jumped 8.9 percent to 63,109.

The number of air passengers in Turkey reached close to 100 million in the first eight months of the year, representing a 13.6 increase compared to the same period in 2012.

The volume of air freight transportation also increased 18.9 percent on domestic flights in August to 82,071 tons; on international flights, this figure surged 12.4 percent to 200,816 tons.

In the first eight months of the year, a total of 1.6 million tons of freight were carried by airplanes, a 14 percent increase compared to the same period during the previous year.