Turkish airports have hosted 82 million passengers in the first five months of this year, the country’s transport and infrastructure minister has said.

The total number of passengers was up 12.7 percent compared to the same period last year, Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a statement on Tuesday, citing the General Directorate Of State Airports Authority (DHMI) data.

Some 37.1 million passengers took domestic flights, up 11.1 percent year-on-year, and 44.9 million passengers took international flights, 12.7 percent above the last year’s figure, during the five-month period.

The cargo traffic reached 1.7 million tonnes in the same period, the minister said.

In May, welcoming 20.2 million passengers

Istanbul Airport hosted 31 million passengers in the five-month period, up 8 percent on an annual basis, and 207,800 planes, 5 percent more than last year’s figure.

Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Türkiye’s second-busiest airport in Istanbul’s Anatolian side, welcomed 16.2 million passengers in the same period, 20 percent above the last year’s figure, and 96,700 planes, up 10 percent year-on-year .

In May, Turkish airports welcomed 20.2 million passengers, a surge of 7.5 percent on an annual basis, and served 200,600 planes, up 8.4 percent, including overpasses, with cargo traffic reaching 404,700 tonnes.

Istanbul Airport saw 6.7 million passengers with 44,700 planes, up 3 percent and 2 percent, respectively.

Sabiha Gokcen Airport hosted 3.4 million passengers with 20,200 planes in May.​​​​​​​