Over 60M air passengers in January-April: Turkey

By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA (AA) - Passenger traffic through Turkish airports rose 19.5 percent in the first four month of 2018, the country’s airport authority said on Monday.

In this period, more than 60.1 million people travelled through airports in Turkey, according to the General Directorate of State Airports Authority.

The number of international passengers went up 22.1 percent to reach over 22.6 million during January to April, while the number of passengers taking domestic flights reached 37.45 million, up 18.5 percent, compared to the same period last year.

The total amount of air cargo in the same period rose 17.3 percent to nearly 1.1 million tons, versus around 925,000 tons in January-April 2017.

According to the data, Turkish airports served 588,526 planes -- including overflights -- up 9.6 percent from the same period last year.

Istanbul’s Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airports and the capital Ankara's Esenboga Airport contributed considerably to the four-month figures.

Ataturk Airport served over 21.5 million passengers alone, up 18 percent on an annual basis, while the Sabiha Gokcen and Esenboga Airports saw 10.7 million and 5.9 million passengers, respectively, in the first four months of the year.

Meanwhile, nearly 17 million people passed through Turkish airports in April, including both domestic and international lines.