Airports processed more than 162 million travelers over a span of eight months.

In the bustling metropolis of Istanbul, Turkey's main airport has been a hub of activity, with a significant increase in passenger traffic over the past year. According to recent data, Istanbul Airport recorded a total of 362,069 aircraft movements in the first eight months of 2021.

Of these movements, 82,933 were domestic flights, indicating a growing demand for domestic travel within Turkey. In comparison, the same period in 2024 saw a 4.6 percent increase in total passenger traffic. This surge in travellers is a promising sign of the country's economic recovery, as the aviation sector plays a crucial role in tourism and trade.

The international flights at Istanbul Airport were equally busy, with a total of 279,136 movements recorded. This translates to a staggering 43.4 million international passengers using the airport in the first eight months of 2021. Sabiha Gökçen Airport, another major airport in Istanbul, handled 17.39 million international passengers during the same period.

The Turkish government, with Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu at the helm of the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry, operates Istanbul Airport, which saw the most passenger traffic in the first eight months of 2025. The total passenger traffic at Istanbul Airport for the first eight months of 2021 was 55.2 million, while Sabiha Gökçen Airport recorded a total of 31.2 million passengers.

Aircraft movements at Sabiha Gökçen Airport reached 178,296 in the first eight months of 2021, with a significant portion being international flights. In airports located in major tourism centers, international passenger traffic for the first eight months of 2021 was 29.24 million, while domestic passenger traffic was 12.94 million.

The total passenger traffic in airports located in major tourism centers for the first eight months of 2021 was 42.18 million. Including overflights, total aircraft movements reached 1.65 million in the first eight months of 2021.

From January to August 2021, a total of 162.6 million passengers used airports in Türkiye. Domestic passenger traffic in this period was 67.04 million, a testament to the country's domestic travel market.

However, no specific information about direct transit passengers was provided in the data. Despite this, the increase in aircraft movements and passenger traffic compared to the same period in the previous year, which saw a 7 percent increase, paints a positive picture for the aviation sector in Turkey.