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Airports across Türkiye served more than 138.7 million passengers between January and July 2026, a figure that Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said surpasses the combined population of 18 European Union member states.
Uraloglu released the data in a statement on Sunday, detailing passenger and cargo traffic across the country's airports for both July and the first seven months of the year.
According to the minister, domestic passenger traffic reached 10.48 million in July, while international passenger traffic stood at 16.31 million. Combined, airports handled 26.80 million passengers that month, including direct transit travelers.
Air traffic in July totaled 249,520 movements, including overflights, with 98,158 domestic and 101,160 international flights recorded at what Uraloglu described as environmentally friendly airports.
For the January-July period, aircraft traffic reached 1.36 million movements in total, comprising 570,028 domestic and 505,357 international flights.
Cargo traffic also grew during the period. Airports handled 527,744 tons of cargo in July alone, split between 102,018 tons on domestic routes and 425,726 tons internationally. Over the seven-month period, cargo traffic totaled 3.03 million tons, including 542,898 tons domestically and 2.485 million tons internationally.
Istanbul Airport remained the busiest hub in the country. The airport recorded 50,748 aircraft movements in July, including 12,190 domestic and 38,558 international flights, and served 8.15 million passengers during the month, comprising 1.816 million domestic and 6.33 million international travelers.
Across the first seven months of 2026, Istanbul Airport logged 313,019 aircraft movements, including 70,461 domestic and 242,558 international flights. "Passenger traffic totaled 48,068,524, including 10,051,727 domestic and 38,016,797 international passengers," Uraloglu said.
Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport also posted strong figures, with July traffic reaching 25,355 aircraft movements, including 11,301 domestic and 14,054 international flights, and passenger traffic of 4.49 million, comprising 2.08 million domestic and 2.41 million international travelers.
Over the seven-month period, Sabiha Gokcen handled 160,890 aircraft movements and served 28.01 million passengers, including 12.93 million domestic and 15.08 million international travelers.
Istanbul Ataturk Airport, which now handles limited operations, recorded 2,444 aircraft movements in July and 15,309 over the first seven months of the year.
Airports serving Türkiye's major coastal and tourism destinations handled a combined 32.10 million passengers in the first seven months of 2026, according to Uraloglu, including 11.65 million domestic and 20.54 million international passengers.
These airports recorded 219,278 aircraft movements during the period, comprising 88,718 domestic and 130,560 international flights.
Among individual airports, Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport served 7.4 million passengers, while Antalya Airport, the country's principal gateway for international tourists arriving by air, handled 19.21 million. Mugla's Dalaman Airport served 2.7 million passengers, and the nearby Milas-Bodrum Airport recorded 2.3 million.
Gazipasa-Alanya Airport, a smaller regional facility, logged 484,511 passengers over the same period.
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