Flag carrier Turkish Airlines takes summit in Europe

Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines has become the leader in Europe in the number of flights and is also among the top 10 countries in terms of capacity and performance, it announced Saturday.

As of April 22, operating 711 flights, Turkish Airlines took the lead, "flying more than twice as many flights as the airline in second place," according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) data, the carrier said in a statement.

Official Aviation Guide (OAG) data also showed that the flag carrier was among the top 10 airlines globally in terms of capacity and the leader in Europe, the statement said.

Ilker Aycı, Turkish Airlines' CEO, said: "I believe, just like 2020, we will conclude 2021 as the airline that showed the best management in the face of the pandemic."

In March, Aycı presented figures showing Turkish Airlines became Europe's leading network carrier in terms of flights operated-44 domestic, 165 international destinations-last year during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Only able to provide 40% of its 2019 capacity during 2020, the flag carrier airline experienced the lowest reduction in terms of passenger numbers (minus 62%) and was in the lead among network carriers when it comes to load factor (71%)."

On the cargo side, the airline's Turkish Cargo division was also a leading carrier in its field, boosting its market share to 4.7% during 2020 by shouldering an important mission when countries closed their doors due to the pandemic.

The cargo carrier's ranking among global air cargo firms last year rose from 8th place to 6th.

The carrier also grew its market share to 4.8% in the first quarter of 2021, while it reached a strong freight load factor at 82.2% versus a sector average of 63.4%.