Winter weather lowers Turkish Airlines’ passenger numbers in February

Turkish Airlines saw a slight decline in passenger numbers in February because of severe weather conditions across Türkiye, including heavy snowfall in Istanbul, which led to multiple flight cancellations in the first weeks of the month.

However, the airline reported an increase in its passenger load factor.

According to data released for February 2025, the airline carried 6 million passengers, marking a 1.9% decrease compared to the same period last year, as reported to the Public Disclosure Platform.

The number of international-to-international transfer passengers rose by 2.1%, reaching 2.44 million, while the overall passenger load factor increased by 0.6 percentage points year-over-year to 81.9%.

The load factor for international flights stood at 81.6%, while domestic flights recorded 85.4%.

The airline’s Available Seat Kilometer (ASK) capacity increased by 0.5% year-over-year to 18.5 billion kilometers, while cargo and mail transport decreased by 0.5% to 148,500 tons.

Growth in January-February period

Despite February’s decline, Turkish Airlines recorded an increase in overall passenger numbers during the first two months of 2025.

The airline carried 12.7 million passengers, reflecting a 3.2% rise compared to the same period in 2024. The number of international-to-international transfer passengers grew by 5.6% to 5.2 million.

For January-February 2025, the overall passenger load factor was 82.2%, with international routes at 81.9% and domestic routes at 84.4%. ASK capacity rose 4.1% to 40 billion kilometers, while cargo and mail transport saw a slight decrease of 0.1% to 298,600 tons.

As of February, Turkish Airlines’ fleet reached 477 aircraft. The airline also noted that the reported traffic results include both Turkish Airlines’ main brand and AJet operations.