Turkish airports welcomed a record 18 million passengers, including transit passengers, in April, as the airline traffic on both domestic and international flights surged by over 50%, a senior official said Wednesday.

The figure soared 53.7% at an annualized pace, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, citing State Airports Authority General Directorate (DHMI) data.

Some 8.3 million passengers took domestic flights in April, a surge of 52.9% when compared to the same period last year.

The number of passengers taking international flights jumped 55.1% to 9.7 million in the same period.

"This month, together with direct transit passengers, a total of 17.97 million passengers were served," Uraloğlu said.

Turkish airports served 178,614 planes, including overflights, last month, a year-over-year rise of 28%, the minister said.

He also informed that the cargo traffic reached 372,430 tons in April, while the total cargo volume in the first four months of the year reached 1.37 million tons.

Istanbul Airport, the country's largest air hub, saw 6.6 million passengers in April, marking a 48% annual hike, he said.

The airport hosted 24.2 million passengers between January and April, including 19.2 million on international lines and 5 million on domestic lines, a 17% rise compared to the same period a year earlier.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the country's second-busiest airport located on Istanbul’s Anatolian side, meanwhile, welcomed 3.3 million passengers and 19,815 planes in April, according to the ministry.

Compared to the same month of 2023, domestic passenger traffic at the airport increased by 55%, and international passenger traffic increased by 63%, resulting in a total passenger traffic increase of 59%, Uraloğlu noted.

The airport served some 12.8 million passengers in the first four months of the year, according to the data.