Turkish airports served 4.7 percent of worldwide air passengers in 2017: Report

ANKARA

Turkish airports saw 193.6 million air passengers in total last year, serving 4.7 percent of passengers traveling through world airports, according to data compiled by state-run Anadolu Agency, citing Turkey’s General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ).

Turkish airports saw 109.1 million passengers on domestic flights, 83.5 million passengers on international flights and 0.5 million passengers on transit flights last year, the agency said. Airports across the country served 1.5 million planes, rising 3.2 percent compared to 2016.

Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport was reported as the country’s busiest airport. It served over 64.1 million passengers alone, while the city’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport, located on the Asian side, saw 31.4 million passengers in 2017.

The other busiest airports were the Antalya Airport, Ankara Esenboğa Airport and İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport, each serving 25.8 million passengers, 15.8 million passengers, and 12.8 million passengers respectively.

Meanwhile, the new Istanbul airport is expected to boost the Turkish aviation sector’s growth by 27.5 percent in the next three years, according to officials.

The number of passengers, including those on direct transit, is expected to increase by 13 percent to reach around 219 million this year, DHMİ data said in a recent report.

The authority forecasts over 230 million air passengers next year and a rise of 27.5 percent, year-on-year, to reach nearly 250 million in 2020.

The largest increase will be seen in passengers on international flights—around 29 percent—to reach 107.7 million in 2020.