ANKARA

Even amid pandemic restrictions, one plane passed through Turkish airspace every 27 seconds in the first four months of this year, Turkey's transport and infrastructure minister said on Friday.

Turkey’s investments in its civil aviation infrastructure and its smart moves made Turkey one of the fastest-developing countries in the world in this field, Adil Karaismailoglu told Anadolu Agency.

This January-March, Turkish airspace saw a total of 185,156 flights on domestic routes and 84,201 on international routes, he said.

Turkey served 385,040 planes including overflights, he explained, adding: "This means that one plane passed through Turkish airspace every 27 seconds in the first four months of this year."

He stressed that while the continuing COVID-19 pandemic cut the number of air passengers globally, thanks to the measures taken by Turkey, passengers continue flying its safe, friendly airways.

Citing international aviation data, Karaismailoglu highlighted that Istanbul Airport – not even three years old – is continuing its groundbreaking success.

"Istanbul Airport, one of the biggest investments in the history of the Republic of Turkey, ranked first in Europe in passenger, aircraft, and freight traffic, beating world giants," he said.

After phase one of the mega-airport opened in fall 2018, this April it welcomed more than two million passengers and 13,395 planes.

Istanbul Airport has an annual capacity of 95 million passengers. When all four of its phases are open as of 2028, it will boast a passenger capacity of some 200 million.