The number of passengers Türkiye's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines (THY), served in the first nine months of the year increased slightly compared to the same period in 2023 to exceed 65 million, the company announced on Wednesday.

The number of air passengers increased by 1.8% year-on-year to 65.1 million in the January-September period, the carrier stated.

The firm carried 23.9 million international passengers, up 6.7%, in the nine months.

The load factor was 82.3%, down 0.8 percentage points over the same period.

The firm also carried 1.5 million tons of post and cargo from January to September, up by 26.5% from the same period last year.

In September alone, the carrier served 7.7 million air passengers, down 3.4% year-on-year, and carried 168,100 tons of cargo and post, up 11.9%.

As of the end of September, the air carrier operates 467 aircraft fleet.

The data from Turkish Airlines came a day after Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said that Turkish airports served more than 177 million passengers between January and September.

In a written statement, the minister cited figures from the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMI), noting that total traffic surged by 7.5% compared to the same period last year to nearly 177.35 million.

"While our airports across Türkiye served 72.95 million passengers on domestic flights and 104.2 million passengers on international flights, a total of 177.35 million passengers, including direct transit passengers, used our airports," he said.

He also pointed to the positive trend in the number of passengers at Istanbul Airport, saying that only in September did the mega hub serve some 7.25 million passengers, up 3% compared to the same month a year ago.

Moreover, with an increase of 5%, the airport served over 60 million individuals between January and September, the minister said.

At the same time, he noted that airports in major tourist destinations within the country, including Izmir, Bodrum, and Antalya, welcomed over 49 million passengers in the first nine months of 2024.