Istanbul airports see 64% rise in number of air passengers in January-September

Türkiye's two busiest airports in Istanbul saw a 64% year-on-year rise in the number of air passengers in the January-September period.

More than 70.1 million passengers traveled through the Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport in the first nine months of this year, according to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from the State Airports Authority Directorate General.

The figure was up by 27.5 million from the same period last year, thanks to the widespread easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.

The Istanbul Airport welcomed 47.6 million passengers from January to September, up 22.5 million compared to last year.

Some 12.2 million passengers took domestic flights and 35.4 million went on international flights through Istanbul Airport, up 62% and 102%, respectively from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Sabiha Gökçen Airport served a total of 11.4 million domestic and 11.2 million international passengers between January and September. While the figure was down by 5% on domestic routes, it nearly doubled on international routes.

The two airports served 483,327 planes-including overflights-in the nine-month period, up 37% year-on-year.