More than 237,000 people have applied to become unmanned aerial vehicle pilots in Türkiye since the beginning of 2026, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has said.
The figure was up 367 percent from the same period last year, Uraloğlu said in a written statement.
As of Aug. 28, the number of licensed UAV pilots in the country’s registry had reached 1,845,456, while the number of registered drones stood at 94,230.
Uraloğlu said 5,300 UAVs had been added to the registry since the start of the year.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation operates the system under its UAV Systems Directive, managing registration, flight authorization and related procedures.
Uraloğlu said drones were increasingly being used in agriculture, photography, filmmaking, mapping, traffic monitoring, security, cargo delivery and health care.
