Total of 94.5 million passengers have gone through Turkiye’s airports in the first six months of 2023, data from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) have shown.
Domestic passenger traffic at the country’s airports grew 18.5 percent in January-June from a year ago to 42.53 million, while the international passenger tally increased by 32 percent year-on-year to 51.8 million, said the authority.
Total passenger traffic, including direct transit passengers, rose by 25.4 percent from January-June 2022.
Istanbul Airport welcomed a total of 35.8 million travelers, including 27.2 million international passengers during the first six months of 2023. Also, 8.7 million domestic passengers used the mega airport from January to June.
Sabiha Gökçen Airport, on the Asian side of Istanbul, served 16.9 million air travelers.
The authority also said that 13.3 million international passengers went through the airports in Turkiye’s major tourism destinations,with Antalya Airport topping the list.
According to DHMİ, in the first six months of this year, nearly 10 million international passengers used the airport in the Mediterranean province.
The airport in the province of İzmir, on the Aegean coast, welcomed 1.5 million international travelers and the corresponding figures for the Muğla-Dalaman and Muğla Milas-Bodrum airports were 1.13 million and 527,000, respectively.
In June alone, domestic passenger traffic at Turkiye’s airports increased by 14.2 percent on an annual basis to 8.5 million, while international passengers rose by 16.3 percent year-on-year to 12.47 million.