Turkey's airspace sees a plane every 14 seconds

In the first six months of 2026, Turkey's airspace handled 1,113,986 flights, including 237,919 transit movements, meaning a plane passed overhead on average every 14 seconds. Passenger traffic rose sharply from 34.5 million in 2002 to nearly 112 million in the same period this year.

The number of countries with air‑service agreements grew from 81 to 175, and destinations reachable from Turkey expanded from 50 to 175, with airport points increasing from 60 to 356. Active airports rose from 26 in 2002 to 58 today, and the transport ministry plans to add two more, reopening Aydın Çıldır and completing projects in Yozgat, Bayburt‑Gümüşhane and a third seaport airport in Trabzon.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu highlighted Turkey’s historic role as a crossroads of continents and said the country now ranks among the nations with the world’s widest flight networks, pledging continued investment in civil aviation, passenger‑service quality and environmentally‑sensitive projects.