Turkey's air traffic grows 127 pct in 8 years

The Turkish civil aviation authority has said that air traffic in Turkey has grown 127 percent in the last 8 years.

According to an activity report released by Turkish Transportation Ministry's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, recent improvements in Turkey's aviation sector have yielded to a remarkable increase in air traffic, as number of flights has grown 127.8 percent since 2002 and reached 1.2 million as of the end of 2010.

The directorate general said the number of large aircraft owned by Turkish airline companies which conduct commercial flights has risen from 110 to 332 in the last 8 years, reflecting a 202 percent increase.

Since 2002, the number of domestic flight destinations has increased from 25 to 44, while destinations abroad have risen from 60 to 157, the report said.

The sector's total number of passengers has increased significantly during the mentioned period as well.

While Turkey's national air carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) carried 8.5 million passengers from two centers to 25 destinations in 2002, a total of 6 airline companies carried nearly 50.5 million passengers from 7 centers to 44 airports in 2010, the report noted.

Turkish civil aviation sector's turnover also increased from 2002's 2.2 billion USD to 12 billion USD as of 2010, the report added.


/World Bulletin/