Passenger traffic at airports rises 94 pct in five months

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s airports served 57 million passengers in January-May, a strong 94.2 percent increase from a year ago.

The international passenger tally rose by 161 percent on an annual basis in the first five months of the year to 28.4 million people, data from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) showed on June 6.

Some 28.6 million domestic passengers went through the country’s 56 airports in the same period, marking a 54.7 percent increase from a year ago.

Istanbul Airport served more than 16 million international, up 132 percent year-on-year, and 5.5 million domestic, up 123 percent, passengers in January-May.

Sabiha Gökçen, another airport in Istanbul, saw a 77 percent increase in overall passenger traffic to 11 million, with international passengers rising 169 percent from a year ago to 5.4 million. It also hosted 5.6 million domestic travelers, up 21 percent.

In a sign that tourism activity remained strong, international passenger traffic at the country’s airports soared 254 percent in May alone compared with the same month of last year to 8.6 million people.

Muğla-Dalaman Airport reported a staggering 1,004 percent increase in the number of international passengers in January-May, while the international traveler tally at Milas-Bodrum Airport increased by 542 percent in the same period.

The airport in the province of Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast, served 4.2 million international passengers, up 212 percent from a year ago.

Adnan Menderes Airport in İzmir, another tourist hot spot on the Aegean coast, saw a 391 percent increase in international passenger traffic.

“In May, the number of total air passengers reached 93 percent of the 2019 level,” Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu said.