Türkiye's 2023 air traffic hits 2.1 million flights, one every 15 seconds

Türkiye has seen a rise in the number of planes passing through its airspace in recent years, as it saw 2.1 million flights in total in 2023, or about one aeroplane every 15 seconds, according to new official figures.

The number of flights, including transit overflights, in Turkish airspace jumped 14.9 percent year-on-year in 2023, rising from 1.8 million to 2.1 million, said a source at the State Airports Authority Directorate General (DMHI).

Aviation experts say the rise is thanks to the many investments in the country’s civil aviation infrastructure.

As of the end of 2023, the new data said that 67 percent of the aeroplanes landing and taking off were commercial flights, with the number leaping 16.3 percent year-on-year to 1.3 million.

Domestic aeroplane traffic rose 10.5 percent year-on-year in 2023 to 868,400.

As for international aeroplane traffic, the number climbed 15.8 percent to 813,400 annually. Transit overflights through Turkish airspace increased by 22.3 percent, reaching 485,200 in 2023.

With these figures, Turkish airspace saw a total of 2.1 million flights in 2023.

In 2002, only Turkish Airlines (THY) operated scheduled domestic flights in Türkiye to 26 destinations from two hubs. Still, three airlines have operated domestic flights to 57 destinations from seven hubs around the country since then.

And while international flights went to only 60 destinations in 2003, by the end of 2023, this number jumped over fivefold to 343.