In 2024, 933,195 tourists benefited from hot air balloon flight services offered in Türkiye’s regions of Nevşehir's Cappadocia, Denizli's Pamukkale, Kayseri's Soğanlı, Nevşehir's Çat, Antalya's Aspendos, Aksaray's Ihlara and Afyonkarahisar's Phrygian Valleys.
According to information compiled by Anadolu Agency (AA) from the 2024 Activity Report of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) under the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, hot air balloon flights are available in seven regions in Türkiye, and 71 companies operate with 441 balloons.
Last year, 43,283 hot air balloon flights were conducted across the aforementioned regions. The number of tourists served increased by 25% compared to the previous year, reaching 933,195, breaking the all-time record for hot air balloon passengers. In 2023, 431 balloons served 747,203 tourists in Türkiye.
The DGCA has also started evaluating new applications for hot air balloon operations in other regions.
To ensure safe balloon flights, inspection activities are conducted in all seven regions by the authority.
As part of these inspections in 2024, unannounced tests for alcohol and psychoactive substances were administered to 348 balloon pilots. Additionally, 27 preflight checks and 585 oversight flights were carried out.
Meanwhile, efforts are ongoing to fully develop domestic aircraft certification capabilities and infrastructure. Certification processes are now being carried out locally. Within this scope, the HÜRKUŞ training aircraft has been certified, and the first locally designed hot air balloon has received a type certificate. Certification activities are also being carried out for various domestically produced and nationally developed aircraft and components, including the Gökbey Helicopter.
Hot air balloon production has also begun in Türkiye. Accordingly, balloons have been exported to Rwanda, Ghana, Egypt, Azerbaijan, Qatar, South Korea, Japan, Mexico and Jordan.
The number of balloon technical personnel increased by 8.5% last year compared to the previous year, rising from 654 to 710.
By the end of last year, 387 certified balloon pilots were actively working in Türkiye.
