Turkey’s airports host over 118 mln passengers in first 11 months of 2021

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s airports served more than 118 million passengers in the first 11 months of 2021, a strong 54 percent increase from the same period of last year, the State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMİ) has said.

From January to November, nearly 55 million international travelers went through the country’s airports, which translated into an 83 percent rise on an annual basis, while the domestic passenger tally grew more than 35 percent to 63.3 million people.

Istanbul Airport saw a 53 percent increase in passenger traffic. Some 33 million travelers used the country’s mega airport in January-November. The number of domestic passengers at the airport increased by 36 percent year-on-year to 9.6 million people and international passengers rose more than 60 percent to 23.6 million.

Sabiha Gökçen, the city’s second airport, welcomed a total of 22.8 million travelers, up 44 percent from January-November 2020. Nearly 23 million international passengers used Sabiha Gökçen, marking a 61 percent rise on an annual basis.

Total passenger traffic at the airport in Antalya, one of Turkey’s major holiday destinations, leaped 126 percent year-on-year in the first 11 months of the year to hit 21.3 million people. The number of international passengers that used the airport soared 160 percent from last year to 16.8 million people, while 4.5 million domestic passengers went through the airport, a 52 percent increase.

Confirming the revival in tourism activity, the airport in İzmir, another popular resort among holidaymakers on the Aegean coast, served 1.7 million international, up 74 percent, and 5.4 million domestic passengers, up 28 percent, in January-November.