The number of passengers passing through Turkish airports rose 9.1 percent annually in the first eight months of 2017, the country's airport authority announced yesterday.

Turkish airports served more than 127 million people between January and August, up from 116.5 million in the same period last year, according to the General Directorate of State Airports Authority.

The number of international passengers surged 15.9 percent to reach nearly 55.5 million from January to August.In the same period, cargo traffic also saw an increase of 9.6 percent year-on-year to reach over 2.2 million tons -- including overflights.