Türkiye’s airports handle 216.8 million passengers in 10 months

ANKARA

Passenger traffic at Türkiye’s airports rose 2.5 percent year-on-year to 216.8 million in the first 10 months of 2026, with Istanbul’s two main airports accounting for more than half of the national total.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced the figures on Nov. 7, citing data from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ). The total includes direct transit passengers.

International passenger traffic reached 125.96 million in January-October, accounting for about 58 percent of the total, while domestic traffic stood at 90.75 million.

Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport together handled 114.6 million passengers, equivalent to nearly 53 percent of traffic nationwide.

Istanbul Airport served 71.97 million passengers over the period. International routes accounted for 56.97 million, or nearly four-fifths of its traffic, while domestic routes carried 15 million.

Sabiha Gökçen handled 42.64 million passengers, with a more even distribution between international and domestic services. International traffic totaled 23.15 million and domestic traffic reached 19.49 million.

In October alone, Istanbul Airport served 7.47 million passengers, while Sabiha Gökçen handled 4.69 million.

Outside Istanbul, five airports serving major tourism destinations recorded combined passenger traffic of 56.64 million in the first 10 months. International routes accounted for 38.5 million passengers, or about 68 percent of their total, with domestic traffic at 18.14 million.

Antalya Airport was the busiest in this group, handling 34.84 million passengers, followed by İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport with 11.48 million.

Dalaman Airport served 5.18 million passengers and Milas-Bodrum Airport handled 4.32 million. Gazipaşa-Alanya Airport recorded 822,145 passengers over the same period.

Nationwide, October passenger traffic totaled 23.65 million, including direct transit passengers. Domestic traffic increased 1.8 percent from a year earlier to 9.04 million, while international traffic stood at 14.59 million.

Aircraft movements reached 2.08 million in January-October, including overflights. Domestic landings and takeoffs numbered 837,920, while international movements totaled 797,002. October’s total, including overflights, was 224,958.

Airports also handled 4.59 million tons of cargo, mail and baggage over the 10-month period, an increase of 1.3 percent from a year earlier. International services accounted for 3.75 million tons, compared with 833,685 tons on domestic routes.

In October, cargo, mail and baggage totaled 462,752 tons, comprising 380,846 tons on international services and 81,906 tons on domestic routes.