Performance of Airports in Turkey During the Normalization Process by Muhammed Yılmaz Due to the pandemic, on June 11th international At this stage, the number the governments in line on March 28th all flights started again of Turkish Airlines’ with the course of the international flights from gradually. destinations increased to pandemic, there are Turkey were cancelled and 222 on the flight schedule no exact guidelines or Turkish Airlines conducted on April 4th all domestic for September, and processes for traveling its first international flights were completely according to its flight plans around the world. flight to Düsseldorf from suspended. Scheduled for September, Pegasus Even members of the Istanbul Airport and its flights could not be Airlines is available to fly European Union impose first domestic flight to conducted for nearly 2 to 63 destinations in 42 different sets of rules Ankara Esenboğa Airport. months, and during this countries. and implementations Pegasus Airlines, on the period airports hosted for visitors. Therefore, other hand, realized its first As the whole world pursues only a designated number particularly the number domestic flight to Izmir its fight against the of evacuation flights of international flight and its first international Coronavirus pandemic and cargo flights. With passengers is far below flight to Cologne. The first with considerable the implementation of a the expected level. The international flight from determination, many process called controlled market for domestic Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen ambiguities remain for normalization, domestic flights has shown a slight Airport was carried out by those wishing to travel. flights in our country were improvement across the Anadolujet Airlines with a Presently, as per the launched on June 1st and world. flight to London. decisions adopted by 30 ARTICLE normalization process is the 97% decrease in the number to many countries in June monthly aircraft, passenger of international passengers, and the gradual increase and air freight statistics of compared to the same of frequency in domestic the General Directorate of period of the previous year. flights. State Airports Authority. In other words, it is possible Air freight traffic (cargo, to say that airline travel Flights were relaunched in airmail and luggage) at our tendencies of passengers June after a suspension of airports reached a total of have not been high during two months and during this 115,173 tons in June 2020; the process of controlled month domestic passenger 25,925 tons carried on normalization. traffic via airports in Turkey domestic lines and 89,248 reached 2,403,971 where the In June 2020, the number tons on international lines. number of international of aircraft arrival/departure In 2019 during the same flight passengers was just at airports in Turkey was period, the total weight of air 366,448. Throughout the 38,550 via domestic lines freight carried was 257,106 month, including the direct and 8,210 via international tons, consisting of 70,131 transit passengers, the lines. Services were provided tons carried on domestic total passenger traffic has to a total of 55,814 aircraft, flights and 186,975 tons on reached 2.750.992. overflights included. international flights. There has been a significant To interpret these figures, On the other hand, in decrease in air freight we should take a closer June 2019, the number of which coincides with the look at the figures of June aircraft arrival/departure decrease in passengers due 2019. During that period, at our airports was 73,487 to the pandemic. Although domestic passenger traffic via domestic flights and airline companies have tried at airports in Turkey was 73,476 via international lines. to survive by conducting 9,080,111 and international The total number of aircraft more air freight operations, Performance passenger traffic was traffic reached 188,153 in some even reconfiguring 11,504,383. Including direct that period. The sharp fall of our airports many of their planes to transit passengers, the in aircraft traffic compared June 2019 & carry a maximum amount total passenger traffic to the previous year clearly June 2020 of freight, overall air freight was 20,606,926. According reveals the decline in the weight figures have still The best source from to these figures, there number of passengers. dropped by 55% due to which to analyze patterns was a decrease of 75% in It is possible to observe the impact of reduced of passenger air travel in the number of domestic through these figures the commercial flights on Turkey during the controlled passengers in June, and a inability to launch flights overall air freight operations. 31 ARTICLE Controlled normalization failed to prevent the sharp decline In June, when the controlled normalization process started, total arrival-departure flight traffic via the Istanbul Airport reached 7,068; 4,100 on domestic lines and 2,968 on international lines. Total passenger traffic reached 604,662; 455,528 on domestic lines and 149,134 on Sabiha Gökçen Airport international lines. Airport. Whereas in June June 2020 performance June 2019 and June 2020 Referencing Istanbul 2020, the airport hosted of the Ankara Esenboğa numbers demonstrate Airport’s June 2019 451,725 domestic flight Airport was quite low that Ankara, the capital performance, total arrival- passengers and merely as well. In June 2019, of Turkey, lost 83% departure flight traffic 60,733 international flight the airport hosted of its domestic flight was 38,001 composed of passengers. The massive 968,685 domestic flight passengers and around 10,675 arrivals/departures difference between the passengers and 208,054 90% of its international on domestic lines and numbers of passengers at international flight flight passengers. 27,326 arrivals/departures this airport, which typically passengers. Upon the Turkey’s most popular on international lines. has Turkey’s highest launch of controlled and significant summer The passenger traffic number of domestic normalization in June destination Antalya on domestic lines was flight passengers and 2020, Esenboğa Airport hosted a total of 624,148 1,653,878 and 4,330,367 on is considered to be the served 164,457 domestic domestic flight passengers international lines, which heart of Pegasus Airlines, flight passengers and and a record-breaking equates to a grand total of clearly reveals signs of the 22,868 international flight number of 4,131,085 5,984,245 passengers that sector’s vulnerability. passengers. Again, the passed through the airport in 2019. The jaw-dropping difference between the figures from June 2019 and June 2020, a decline of almost 90% at Turkey’s greatest center of aviation, clearly illustrates the devastating effects of the pandemic on the sector. 1,879,103 domestic flight passengers and 1,191,147 international flight passengers were hosted in June 2019 at The social distance &measure of COVID-19, Sabiha Gökçen Airport Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen 32 ARTICLE international flight passengers in June 2019. The figures we come across for June 2020 are without doubt quite different. 113,225 domestic flight passengers and only 25,754 international line passengers flew to Antalya Airport during June 2020. Hence, Antalya saw one of the most dramatic declines. Performance of our airports July 2019 & July 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic Istanbul Airport caused an abrupt In July 2019, the traffic of departing aircraft at our in July 2020. During July, a slowdown in the global domestic flight passengers airports in July 2020 was total of 196,621 tons of air aviation sector, yet in via Turkey’s airports 61,002 on domestic flights freight traffic composed July the domestic market came in at 9,122,161 and 19,166 on international of 50,719 tons on domestic regained dynamism. and international flight flights. The total aircraft flights and 145,902 tons on The physical conditions passenger traffic was traffic, including international were realized. of airports across the 12,897,411. Therefore, the overflights, was 92,192. While in July 2019, air globe were rearranged number of domestic flight However, in July 2019, freight traffic had reached according to social passengers decreased 79,311 aircraft traffic was 279,632 tons, consisting of distancing measures and by nearly 50% and the comprised of domestic 76,452 tons on domestic stringent disinfection number of international flights and 83,547 were and 203,180 tons on processes continued flight passengers dropped international flights, international flights. uninterruptedly as part by 90%, compared to adding up to 207,518 in of the COVID-19 Free In July 2020, the number the same period of the total aircraft traffic. Airport project, and in this of domestic flight previous year. way in July the number of The decrease in air freight passengers came in at passengers travelling by The number of arriving/ displayed a slight recovery 805,184 and the total plane and passing through our airports reached 6 million 224 thousand. Throughout the month, the number of domestic flight passengers was 4,608,184 and international flight passengers reached 1,614,484 at airports across Turkey. Accordingly, the total traffic of passengers including direct transit passengers was 6 million 224 thousand 921 in July 2020. The social distance & measure of COVID-19, İstanbul Airport 33 ARTICLE managing to double its average domestic flight passengers in July and June, Antalya Airport increased its number of international flight passengers by approximately 15 times compared to the previous month upon the relaunch of the charter flights in June, particularly from Russia. This increase has been way over the increases in passenger numbers at all other airports in Turkey. Despite Antalya International Airport all these achievements, the airport failed to reach number of international in July 2020 the number the number of domestic the passenger figures of flight passengers was of passengers at Sabiha flight passengers at the previous year.