TEKNOFEST, Türkiye’s premier aerospace and technology festival, has opened its doors to visitors at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.

The five-day festival, which features numerous events such as technology competitions, air shows, concerts, and seminars, began on Thursday.

TEKNOFEST aims to boost interest in technology in Türkiye.

The inaugural fair attracted some half a million visitors while the 2019 fair welcomed 1.72 million, which is a world record for an aviation-themed event.

Millions of visitors

Held in Istanbul in 2018 and 2019, the first TEKNOFEST outside of Istanbul was hosted by Türkiye’s southeastern province of Gaziantep in 2020, but it was held virtually due to pandemic restrictions.

In 2021, TEKNOFEST returned to the Turkish commercial capital of Istanbul.

Last year, hosted by the Black Sea province of Samsun, it was visited by 1.25 million people.

The event's first international version was also held last year in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital.

Tens of thousands of competitors and teams have been applying to the event since 2018 in dozens of categories.