Türkiye’s airports’ annual passenger capacity has surpassed 397.4 million, Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said.
In a written statement, Uraloğlu stated that the number of airports nationwide has increased from 26 to 58 over the past 24 years.
Uraloğlu stated that terminal areas have expanded from 541,000 square meters to 4.1 million square meters, adding that this growth has directly boosted passenger capacity. “Over the last 24 years, we have increased the annual passenger capacity of our airports from 55 million to more than 397.4 million. Our annual capacity has now reached a level capable of serving more passengers than the total population of 26 EU countries,” he said.
Uraloğlu noted that the number of passengers served rose from approximately 34 million to 247.1 million, while daily passenger traffic increased from around 92,000 to 677,000.
The minister said similar growth has been recorded in aircraft traffic, with the total number of flights rising from 532,000 to more than 2.5 million. Daily flight numbers have exceeded 6,800, he added.
“In terms of total passenger traffic, we have climbed from 18th to 7th place worldwide and from seventh to third place in Europe.”
He also reported a significant increase in fleet size, stating that the total number of aircraft rose from 626 to 2,218, while the number of wide-body aircraft increased from 150 to 800. Airline seat capacity expanded from around 25,000 to more than 157,000 and cargo capacity rose from 303 tons to 2,903 tons.
Uraloğlu said the number of international destinations served by Turkish Airlines increased from 60 to 356, while the number of countries with which Türkiye has air transport agreements rose from 81 to 175.
