The number of passengers carried on domestic and international flights from the three airports in Istanbul, namely Atatürk International Airport, Sabiha Gökçen and Istanbul Airport, in January and February this year increased by 216,490 with respect to the same period last year. Around 9.8 million passengers departed from and arrived at the Atatürk Airport in the first two months of this year, according to data compiled from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ), with more than 2.65 million being served in domestic flights and around 7.19 million being served in international flights.

In the same period of the year, more than 3.35 million and 1.89 million passengers received service at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport's domestic and foreign flights, respectively.

Meanwhile, a total of 119,268 domestic passengers and 83,310 international passengers used the Istanbul Airport, whose first phase officially opened on Oct. 29. The number of passengers at three airports in the city stood at 15.285 million in the first two months. This figure was around 15.069 million in the same period last year.

Turkey saw 26.8 million air passengers in the first two months of this year. Thus, approximately 57 percent of all the passengers who used Turkey's airports in January and February preferred Istanbul's airports.

A total of 18,862 domestic flights and 51,106 international flights were recorded at the Atatürk Airport in the two-month period. The number of domestic and international flights at the Sabiha Gökçen Airport stood at 21,419 and 14,273, respectively.

Also, Istanbul Airport hosted 911 domestic flights and 767 international flights in the first two months of the year. In the January-February period last year, a total of 105,558 planes took off and landed at all the airports in the megacity. The figure was 107,338 in the same period this year.

The number of flights in the same period increased by 1,780 compared to last year. While the country's airports hosted nearly 202,000 planes, Turkish airspace was used by 272,667 planes, including overflights, in the same period. In the first two months, international passengers made up 39.6 percent (10.6 million) of total passengers.

Among 56 airports nationwide, Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, on the European side of the city, was the most active, with 9.8 million passengers. At full annual capacity of 200 million passengers, with the completion of all four phases with six runways by 2028, Istanbul Airport is set to become a global aviation hub hosting more than 100 airlines and flights to over 300 destinations around the world. Last year, Turkish airports hosted some 210 million passengers, while the number of planes using Turkish airspace was over 2 million, including overflights.