Turkish Airlines said it continues to grow its market share in the air freight market and was ranked fourth by The International Air Transport Association (IATA) among the world's top air cargo carriers in 2023.
Reporting on its 2023 performance, Turkey's flag carrier said its cargo branch, Turkish Cargo, increased its freight ton kilometres by 16% last year compared to 2019.
The airline also closed 2023 flying to 133 countries in 365 destinations with 24 freighters and 416 passenger aircraft.
"Tripling its market share in the air freight market in the last 10 years, our company bolstered its success by ranking fourth among the world's top air cargo carriers according to IATA's 2023 data," Turkish Airlines said.
The airline aims to expand its fleet to 800 aircraft by 2033 as part of its 100th Anniversary Strategy.
Turkish Airlines increased its number of aircraft by 12% to 440 in 2023 despite global challenges in aircraft procurement and bottlenecks in aircraft production, it said.
In terms of its passenger business, Turkish Airlines said it achieved a "new milestone" in 2023 when it carried 83.4 million passengers despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic uncertainties.
"This was due to outpacing its peers with faster capacity increases, leveraging its agility, extensive flight network, and a highly qualified workforce maintained throughout the pandemic," it added.
Turkish Airlines reported that it increased its domestic passenger capacity by 23.5% compared to 2022, with the number of passengers surpassing 30 million. Furthermore, on international routes, capacity rose by 16%, and Turkish Airlines carried 53 million passengers, an increase of 14%.
"While global international airline capacity lagged 12% behind the 2019 figures in 2023, as reported by the IATA, Turkish Airlines set itself apart from the industry by exceeding its 2019 international capacity by 27%," it said.
The carrier noted that as a result of the country's investments in aviation infrastructure, Istanbul Airport also emerged as the leading European airport in terms of daily number of flights.
Meanwhile, Türkiye's national flag carrier noted that it actively supported the relief efforts in 2023, from the first day following the Kahramanmaraş centred earthquakes, the largest and most devastating natural disasters in the country's history.
The airline conducted humanitarian passenger and cargo flights from both domestic and international locations free of charge, among others.