Turkey’s leading air carrier saw a huge spike in passenger numbers over the extended Kurban Bayramı (Eid al-Adha) period. Between 17 August and 26 August 2018, Turkish Airlines carried 2,340,448 passengers on 15,048 flights.
The details were announced on Twitter on Monday, 27 August by the airline’s Senior Vice President and Media Relations Adviser Yayha Üstün. Posting in Turkish, he said: “During this Bayram, we have not only carried 2,340,448 passengers on 15,048 flights. At the same time, we brought millions [of people] together, but also the excitement and happiness.”
Üstün added, “We are proud to be working for Turkey, to be delivering something so valuable.”
Bu bayram gerçekleştirdiğimiz 15.048 uçuşta yalnızca 2.340.448 yolcumuzu taşımadık. Biz aynı zamanda milyonlarca kavuşmayı, heyecanı ve mutluluğu da bir araya getirdik. Türkiye için çalışmaktan, anlam taşımaktan gurur duyuyoruz.
— Yahya ÜSTÜN (@yhyustun) August 26, 2018
Many passengers took advantage of the fact this year’s four-day Bayram was wedged between two weekends. The authorities in both Turkey and North Cyprus announced a nine-day break for public sector employees, with many private businesses following suit.
Turkish Airlines averages 5.5 million passengers per month. Last year, the saw a 9.3% increase in passenger numbers, flying 68.6 million passengers, up from 62.8 million in 2016. The airline globally ranked 12th, flies to 120 countries – more than any other airline in the world.
