With rising traffic, Turkish airspace in 2023 saw 1 flight every 15 seconds

ANKARA

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 airplane every 15 seconds, according to new official figures.

The number of flights, including transit overflights, in Turkish airspace jumped 14.9% 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 made in the country’s civil aviation infrastructure.

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

Domestic airplane traffic rose 10.5% year-on-year in 2023 to 868,400.

As for international airplane traffic, the number climbed 15.8% to 813,400 on an annual basis.

The number of transit overflights through Turkish airspace went up 22.3%, 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, but since then, three airlines operate domestic flights to 57 destinations from seven hubs around the country.

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

*Writing by Emir Yildirim