Turkish Airlines Sets Record With 92.6M Passengers

Turkish Airlines set a new passenger record in 2025, serving 92.6 million travelers, an 8.8% increase from the 85.2 million passengers flown in 2024, the national flag carrier said on Friday.

The airline’s load factor for the year rose slightly by 0.1 percentage points to 83.2%, The Caspian Post reports, citing Turkish media.

In December alone, Turkish Airlines carried 7.3 million passengers, marking a 13.5% year-over-year increase, with the monthly load factor climbing 1.9 points to 82.6%.

The airline’s fleet reached 516 aircraft by the end of 2025, up from 492 planes the previous year. Turkish Airlines continues to serve the most countries of any airline in the world, operating to 356 destinations across 132 nations. The company plans to expand its fleet to 813 aircraft by 2033.

On Thursday, Turkish Airlines announced the start of eight new facilities with total investments exceeding TL 100 billion ($2.32 billion), mainly at its home hub, Istanbul Airport. The projects include Europe’s largest wide-body aircraft engine maintenance facility, the world’s largest aircraft catering facility, the second phase of SmartIST (set to become the world’s largest cargo terminal), additional aircraft maintenance hangars, and an e-commerce complex.

Turkish Airlines Chair Ahmet Bolat said the projects will create 26,000 new jobs in 2026 and more than 36,000 when all phases are complete.