Number of passengers flying from Istanbul grows by 16.5 million in Jan-May

By Azernews

By News Center

Over 32.5 million people traveled from the Istanbul airports in January-May of 2022, which is 16.5 million more as against 2021, Yeni Shafak reports.

In the same period in 2021, 239,971 flights were made in five months from airports that hosted 16.1 million people.

The passenger traffic, which fell dramatically around the globe and in Turkey during the Covid-19 outbreak, has begun a strong rebound since the beginning of 2022. Turkish civil aviation has been on the upswing in terms of flight traffic and passenger density since the beginning of 2022, having overcome the detrimental impact of the pandemic with the measures implemented last year.

In the first five months of 2022, the number of passengers welcomed at Istanbul and Sabiha Gokcen airports increased significantly compared to the previous year. During the period, the most substantial increase was noted in domestic routes, owing mostly to the Ramadan Feast, but the growth persisted in all routes with the start of the tourism season.

According to data published by the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMI), Istanbul Airport served 21.5 million passengers in the first five months of 2022. Domestic lines carried 5.5 million, while overseas lines served 16 million.

The number of passengers at Istanbul Airport climbed by 12.1 million compared to the same period last year, when it was utilized by 9.3 million persons. The passenger growth rate was calculated to be 130 percent. From January through May of 2022, 5.6 million flew domestically from Sabiha Gokcen Airport, while 5.4 million flew internationally.

In the first five months of 2021, Sabiha Gokcen Airport served 4.6 million domestic and over 2 million foreign travelers. However, the number of passengers hosted grew by 980,735 on domestic lines and 3.4 million on international flights in the first five months of 2022. Domestic passengers increased by 21 percent, while international passengers grew by 169 percent.

In the first five months of this year, 32.5 million traveled from Istanbul airports, with 11.1 million flying on domestic lines and 21.4 million on international lines.

The overall number of passengers flying from Istanbul climbed by 16.5 million in the first five months of 2022, from 16 million in the same period of last year.

The number of inbound and outgoing flights at Istanbul airports climbed in tandem with the number of passengers in the first five months of 2022.

Istanbul Airport handled 39,407 domestic and 111,921 international flights in the first five months of 2022. At the airport, where 80,721 flights were fulfilled in the first five months of 2021, a 70,607 flight rise was observed at the same time this year. Flights surged by 87 percent over the previous year, according to calculations.

In the first five months of 2022, 38,758 domestic and 38,891 international flights were carried out at Sabiha Gokcen Airport. In the same period of last year, a total of 53,194 flights were carried out from the airport. In the first five months of 2022, an increase of 24,455 flights was calculated compared to the same period of the previous year.

During the mentioned period, 5,683 flights on domestic lines and 5,311 flights on international lines (a total of 10, 994 flights) were operated at Ataturk Airport, while a total of 15,657 flights were recorded in the same period of 2021.

In the January-May period of 2022, 239,971 flights were made from Istanbul airports. In the same period of last year, the number of flights operated in Istanbul airports was 149,572. Thus, the number of flights carried out in the first five months of 2022 increased by 90,399 over the same period last year.