Turkish Airlines Increases Passenger Capacity Thanks To Its Wide Flight Network

(MENAFN- AzerNews) By News Centre

Despite global geopolitical tensions and macroeconomicuncertainties, Turkish airlines (THY) carried 83.4 millionpassengers last year, a record, thanks to its wide flight networkand the highly qualified workforce it maintained during theCOVID-19 period.

According to the information given at the meeting regardingTHY's financial results, the company's domestic passenger capacityincreased by 23.5 percent last year compared to 2022, while thenumber of passengers increased by 19 percent, reaching over 30million.

While the capacity increase in international lines approached 16percent, the number of passengers increased by 14 percent, reaching53 million. The increase in the number of passengers abroad,especially in European countries where Turkish citizens livedensely, exceeded 20 percent.

According to the data published by the International AirTransport Association (IATA), while global international passengercapacity last year remained 12 percent behind the pre-COVID-19period in 2019, THY continued to be one of the leading airlines inthe sector, exceeding that year by 27 percent. As a result ofTurkiye's investments in aviation infrastructure, Istanbul Airporthas become the airport offering the most flights in Europe.

Providing air cargo services at 364 points in 133 countries with24 cargo planes and 416 passenger planes, THY increased the amountof paid cargo it carried last year by 16 percent compared to 2019 Cargo, which has more than tripled its market share incargo transportation in the last 10 years, continued its success asthe world's 4th largest air cargo carrier in 2023, according toIATA data.

THY, which aims to have a fleet exceeding 800 aircraft in 2033within the framework of its 100th Anniversary Strategy, added 46aircraft to its fleet last year, despite the supply problems in theglobal aviation industry and the bottleneck in production, andincreased the number of aircraft to 440 with a 12 percentincrease.

THY continued to create an important source of value for theTurkish economy with its total assets exceeding 1 trillion lira($35.7 billion), the $16.3 billion export revenue it brought toTurkiye last year, and the foreign exchange contribution of $8.1billion.

Turkiye's national flag carrier has continued its support sincethe first day of the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş, one ofthe biggest disasters in the country's history. Passenger and cargoflights were provided free of charge, especially for the evacuationof citizens, as well as for the delivery of domestic andinternational search and rescue teams and aid materials to theregion.

In addition to the 2 billion lira donation it made to be usedfor the needs in the region, the company also presented the paymentrequired for 1000 houses to be donated to those in need of AFADduring the year.

With its strong 2023 results, THY demonstrated its determinationto achieve its 2033 vision, which will create high value for allits stakeholders. Aiming to exceed 50 billion dollars in revenueand 170 million passengers in its 100th year, THY's efforts in thefields of excellence in passenger experience, digitalization, andsustainability were appreciated by the leading institutions of thesector.

In this context, THY was awarded the "5-star global airline"award by APEX (Airline Passenger Experience Association) for the3rd time in 2023, the "Best Airline in Europe" award by Skytrax forthe 8th time, and the second time by World Finance. It was chosenas the "Most Sustainable Flag Carrier Airline".

THY, which employs more than 83 thousand people together withits subsidiaries today, is among the giants of air transportationas a brand that leads the sector with its "unique" flight network,modern fleet, superior service approach and successful performancein 2023. In the coming years, THY will continue to increase itscontribution to the sustainable growth of the sector in line withTurkey's development goals and 2033 strategy.

MENAFN04042024000195011045ID1108060798