Istanbul Airport: A Journey of Success with Millions of Passengers
Istanbul Airport, which had its first flight on June 21, 2018, with the aircraft “TC-ANK” carrying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has served 209,796,527 passengers in the time that has passed.
According to information compiled by AA correspondent, the first flight to Istanbul Airport, which was initiated in 2015, took place with the landing of the Presidential aircraft “TC-ANK” on the first runway, measuring 3,750 meters in length and 60 meters in width, on June 21, 2018.
Later, on October 29, 2018, Istanbul Airport was officially opened and started its operations. In the time that has passed, Istanbul Airport has been used by 1,447,716 aircraft. It has provided services to approximately 210 million passengers.
According to statistics after the commencement of scheduled flights on October 29, 2018, Istanbul Airport, which was used by 95,205 passengers in 2018, witnessed 775 aircraft landings and takeoffs.
Rapidly increasing the number of passengers and aircraft, Istanbul Airport hosted 51,864,499 passengers in 2019, while Ataturk Airport continued its operations in the first quarter of that year.
During this period, Istanbul Airport, like all airports worldwide, was negatively affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While 23,330,411 passengers used Istanbul Airport in 2020, it served 185,642 aircraft during this period. In 2021, the airport was used by 36,988,067 passengers and 280,108 aircraft.
With the gradual resumption of global flights as the impact of the pandemic diminished, Istanbul Airport also started to rapidly increase its number of passengers.
In the previous year, Istanbul Airport served 64,289,107 passengers and witnessed 425,890 aircraft landings and takeoffs.
The airport had a strong start in this year as well, serving 33,265,000 passengers and 228,215 aircraft from January to June.
Breaking Flight Records in Turkey and Europe
According to reports from the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), Istanbul Airport maintained its top position in terms of daily flight traffic among European airports and broke flight records in Turkish and European civil aviation history in 2023.
According to Eurocontrol reports, Istanbul Airport achieved the record for the highest number of daily flights in Europe with 1,684 flights on June 11.
Ataturk Airport, which is no longer operational for civil flights, previously held the record for the highest number of flights and passengers, with 1,500 flights and 230,000 passengers on September 18, 2016.
On April 23, Istanbul Airport set a new record in Turkish civil aviation by serving 244,709 passengers with 1,548 flights, surpassing the previous record.
In summary, Istanbul Airport has embarked on a successful journey, serving millions of passengers and breaking records in Turkish and European civil aviation.
