Ercan Airport Handles 4.5 Million Passengers in First Nine Months

According to information provided by T&T Airport Operations, Ercan Airport served 4,551,794 passengers between January 1 and September 30, 2026. A total of 29,693 aircraft arrivals and departures were recorded during the nine-month period.

Serhat Özçelik, General Manager of T&T Airport Operations, said passenger and aircraft traffic had both grown by more than 8% year-on-year.

Özçelik said Ercan Airport handled 4,198,145 passengers and 27,331 aircraft operations during the same period in 2025. The number of passengers therefore increased by 353,649 in the first nine months of 2026.

Arriving passenger numbers rose from 2,104,676 in the first nine months of 2025 to 2,278,682 this year, representing an increase of 8.27%.

Departing passenger numbers also increased, climbing from 2,093,469 to 2,273,112, an annual rise of 8.58%. Özçelik emphasized that both arriving and departing passenger traffic had recorded substantial growth during the nine-month period.

He said the airport handled an average of approximately 505,755 passengers per month, meaning it served more than half a million passengers monthly on average in 2026.

Özçelik also highlighted the close balance between arriving and departing passengers. Of the 4,551,794 passengers recorded during the period, 2,278,682 were arrivals and 2,273,112 were departures, a difference of just 5,570 passengers.

Aircraft movements were similarly balanced, with 14,847 arriving aircraft and 14,846 departing aircraft recorded over the nine months.

According to Özçelik, the figures indicate that traffic at Ercan Airport reflects balanced demand for air travel in both directions rather than movement predominantly in one direction.

He said the results also demonstrated the airport’s continued strategic role in the TRNC’s air transport network and its capacity to accommodate rising passenger demand and operational activity.

Ercan Airport Statistics for January–September 2026

• Total passengers: 4,551,794

• Arriving passengers: 2,278,682

• Departing passengers: 2,273,112

• Total aircraft movements: 29,693

• Arriving aircraft: 14,847

• Departing aircraft: 14,846

• Year-on-year passenger growth: 8.42%

• Year-on-year aircraft traffic growth: 8.64%

• Additional passengers compared with 2025: 353,649

• Busiest month for passenger traffic: August, with 600,289 passengers

• Busiest month for aircraft traffic: August, with 3,668 aircraft movements