ISTANBUL, Jan 10, 2026, 16:14 (GMT+3)
- 2025 passengers rose 8.8% to 92.6 million; load factor improved to 83.2%
- December passengers climbed to 7.3 million; cargo and mail rose 15.9%
- Fleet ended 2025 at 516 aircraft as the carrier steps up expansion plans
Turkish Airlines said it carried a record 92.6 million passengers in 2025, up 8.8% from a year earlier, in consolidated traffic results that include its AJet brand. Load factor — the share of seats sold — rose to 83.2% and available seat kilometres, a standard capacity measure, grew 7.5% to 273.2 billion.
The year-end traffic tally is an early read on demand for a network carrier that relies heavily on transfer passengers moving through Istanbul. It also lands as the airline expands infrastructure at its home base; chairman Ahmet Bolat said new investments would “start with 26,000 new jobs in 2026” as Turkish Airlines broke ground on projects valued at more than 100 billion lira ($2.32 billion). https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkish-airlines-lays-foundations-23-billion-worth-new-investments-2026-01-08/
In December, the carrier carried 7.3 million passengers, up 13.5% year on year, as capacity rose 9.2% to 23.3 billion available seat kilometres. Cargo and mail carried climbed 15.9% to about 192,400 tonnes, while the monthly load factor improved to 82.6% as more seats came onto the market.
Transfer traffic remained a core driver. International-to-international transfer passengers — travellers changing planes between two international flights — rose 12.8% in 2025 to 35.7 million, the report showed, and were up 14.1% in December.
Domestic passenger numbers rose 4.5% in 2025 to 31.9 million, while international passengers increased 11.3% to 60.7 million. Cargo and mail carried rose 8.4% for the year to 2.17 million tonnes.
Turkish Airlines ended 2025 with a fleet of 516 aircraft and said it served 356 destinations in 132 countries. It aims to reach 813 aircraft by 2033, the company said.
The Istanbul hub model puts Turkish Airlines in direct competition for connecting passengers with Gulf carriers such as Emirates and Qatar Airways and European network groups including Lufthansa. Its network also leans on a large domestic operation alongside long-haul routes.
Traffic growth outpaced capacity in 2025. Revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) — a demand measure based on paying passengers — rose 8.8%, slightly faster than the increase in seat capacity, helping lift the annual load factor even as the fleet expanded.
But the gains were not even across regions. The airline’s own breakdown showed revenue passenger kilometres to Central and South America edged down 0.6% in 2025, and the risk for fast-growing carriers is that new capacity can pressure seat-fill rates if demand cools.
The traffic report did not include revenue or profit guidance. Investors will look for how passenger growth and cargo volumes translated into earnings when the carrier reports full-year financial results.
Related articles: Airlines
