Turkish Cargo has ranked as the top European air cargo carrier and the 4th globally, accoridng to the World Air Transport Statistics data, published on yearly basis by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
The logistics arm of Turkish Airlines recorded FTK (Freight Tonne Kilometers) increasing by more than 32% showing a transportation performance of 9.2 million tonne kilometers in 2021 — outpacing other air cargo brands in Europe.
Top 3 cargo airline goal
Turkish Airlines chairman of the board and the executive committee, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat said the cargo carrier is on track to reach its goal of becoming the Top 3 cargo airline in the world.
"As the fastest-growing air cargo brand in the world, we continue to add value to the air cargo industry with our contributions to the supply chain and maintain our critical role when it comes to increasing the global trade's competition power," the Turkish Cargo chief said.
"We are on the march towards our target to become one of the top 3 air cargo brands in the world in 2025 by carrying this success performed by Turkish Cargo in Europe to all corners of the world," he added.
Meanwhile, the cargo carrier said with the fleet, infrastructure, process and quality improvement investments performed by Turkish Cargo since 2017, global carrier rose to 4th from 22th in the global rankings and increased its market share to the level of 5.2% from the 2.6% during the last five years.
Turkish Cargo had 13 cargo planes in its fleet in 2017, increased this number by 53.8% to 20 in 2022.
In parallel with the expansion of the fleet, the number of the destinations operated with freighters nearly doubled by reaching 100 in 2022.
Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines became the airline that operates flights to the highest number of international destinations for cargo just as it does for the passenger operations.
The carrier said in the statement that due to air bridges built by Turkish Cargo, Turkish exporters can now establish commercial connections directly with approximately 85% of the world, on GNP basis.
Increased market share cited
As the market share of Turkish Cargo increased by 8% on the medical cargo shipments, it noted that it also played a crucial role in the fight against the pandemic not only in Türkiye but also on the global scale.
Furthermore, SMARTIST, the facility in which Turkish Cargo has started to carry out its operations as of the end of 2021, is now in service as the largest and the cutting-edge air cargo facility in Europe, in terms of its facility capacity and its technological infrastructure.