Istanbul airports serve 16M passengers in last 2 months

Airports in Istanbul served 16 million passengers in April and May, which is an increase compared with the first three months of the year, according to official data.

The General Directorate of State Airports Authority data compiled by Anadolu Agency revealed that the Ataturk Airport transported nearly 3.5 million domestic passengers and over 7.2 million international passengers over the past two months.

The Sabiha Gokcen International Airport received 3.2 million domestic passengers while it served nearly 2 million international passengers during the same period.

A total of 19 million passengers chose Istanbul airports during the first three months of 2017.

According to the figures, the airports also saw 114,670 flights in April and May.

Istanbul is expected to get its third airport by 2018, according to Turkish Transport Ministry.

With an annual capacity of more than 150-million passengers, the airport is expected to become one of the biggest in the world and the biggest air transfer hub in Europe.

The airport will also act as a focal point for Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines, which is one of the fastest growing airline companies in the world, flying currently to more than 270 international destinations.