Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu came together with senior executives of THY, AJet, Pegasus and SunExpress Airlines in Istanbul and discussed the general situation of Turkish civil aviation in internal and external lines and its future predictions.
Minister Uraloğlu, in his press statement after the meeting, ⁇ We discussed the lack of flights in our country and how we can eliminate these deficiencies, especially by focusing on the issue of internal border flights. ⁇ said.
⁇ WE SHOW SENSITIVITY TO MAKE FLIGHT NUMBERS CONSISTENT, ACTIVE AND EFFICIENT ⁇
Minister Uraloğlu stated that airline enterprises are commercial organizations operating on the principles of free market, ⁇ Betting on starting a flight on a line on normal bases, increasing the number of flights, making ticket discounts or campaigns is at the sole discretion of the enterprises. However, as we do today as the Ministry, we carry out systematic consultations with airline operators and convey our evaluations for regions where demand is heavy in the country and ensure that the necessary plans are made.
Especially in summer periods, we receive requests from our citizens to increase the number of flights due to the number and density of flights. Because, we show a special sensitivity to make the number of flights to every point of Turkey stable, active and efficient. He used his words.
⁇ RECOVERY OF 139 THOUSAND 103 PASSENGER CAPACITY WITH 670 PASSENGER FLIGHTS IN THE FILOS OF AIRLINE BUSINESSES ⁇
Stating that 14 airline companies licensed in Turkey operate and 4 of them operate internal line passenger flights, Minister Uraloğlu said, ⁇ The airline companies in our country have a capacity of 139 thousand 103 passengers with a total of 670 passenger aircraft in their fleets. Today we carry an average of 207 passengers per plane.
Of course, we didn't come easy these days. On May 20, 1933, with the decision of the Airline State Enterprise Administration under the Ministry of National Defense to start service, our first fleet of 4 aircraft started to operate under the name of Turkish Air Mail.
Turkish Air Mail, which started to flap its wings by making its first flight in 1933, has now taken almost the whole world under its wings under the name of Turkish Airlines.
If you ask about the first commercial airport, I can tell you the area called Güvercinlik today in Ankara ⁇ . As for the terminal, there was nothing but a few tents. However, today, we have 58 airports with Çukurova International Airport, which we opened on August 10. Our Istanbul Airport, which we opened in 2018, continues to maintain the first place it has had for years as the heaviest airport in Europe. He said it.
100 of the Republic. PASSENGER RECORD OF ALL CASH WAS BREAKED IN 2023
Reminding that 399 passengers traveled by air in 1939 compared to the first statistic shared by the State Statistical Institute in 1939, Minister Uraloğlu said that after 1985, the number of external borders passengers exceeded the number of internal lines passengers, and after 1990, we observe that the increase in the number of external lines passengers reached striking dimensions.
When we come to 2002, while approximately 8 million 730 thousand passengers are traveling at the internal borders, we see that this number has risen to more than 25 million in the outer lines. That is, in 2002, we had about 34 million passengers traveling along the inner and outer lines.
We see that our number of airline passengers has steadily increased in parallel with the development of our aviation department since 2002 until 2020, when we experienced the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, there is a decrease in these years due to the epidemic effect. However, in 2023, the centenary of our Republic, we have broken the record of all times by carrying more than 214 million passengers.
At the end of the year, we predict that our number of passengers will rise to the top of 236 million.
Uraloğlu noted that the number of flights including transit overpasses at the Turkish airport in 2023 increased by 14.9 percent compared to the previous year and increased to 2 million 167 thousand 19 ⁇ a, Thus, in 2023, a plane passed through the skies of Turkey every 15 seconds.
We will reach much higher prices than these statistics this year and in the coming periods; By the end of this year, we expect our passenger numbers to exceed 236 million and 250 million by 2025. I think that one of the most striking examples of the expression ⁇ from where ⁇ , which is frequently expressed by our President, is our increasing number of passengers in parallel with the development in our airline department. ⁇ He spoke on condition.
⁇ BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, OUR NUMBER OF FLIGHT POINTS ON EXTERNAL LIMITS WILL BE 349 ⁇ A
Uraloğlu noted that there are currently an average of 7 thousand weekly reciprocal flights by carriers at internal borders and an average of 20 thousand flights at external borders. ⁇ At this point, as the Ministry, we continue to provide the necessary supplements in the internal lines as we help airline businesses to increase flights at external points.
For example, as a result of our long-term negotiations, with the prestige of Santiago ⁇ ya, the capital city of Chile, on December 18, 2024, we start flights with THY as 4 weekly frequencies on the Istanbul-Sao Paolo (Brazil)-Santiago line. Thus, it will be your first time to Chile. On the other hand, THY will start flights on the Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur-Sydney border with its historical prestige on December 4, 2024.
Following the Melbourne flights that started this year, Sydney will be the second new point we will open in the Australian continent. Thus, at the end of this year, our number of flight points at the external borders will increase to 349 ⁇ . ⁇ He said it.
⁇ 2025 TRAVEL NUMBERS WILL BE INCREASED IN LINES WHICH HAVE PRIOR REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUMMER PERIOD ⁇
Minister Uraloğlu, domestic lines, in the middle of cities with a travel time of at least 5 hours or more by road or train, at least one flight every day in the morning and evening, and the previous period, the season occupancy average of more than 95 percent, mentioning that plans were made on the side of putting an additional flight, ⁇ Now, businesses will start feasibility studies as soon as possible in lines with priority need for the summer term of 2025 and the number of flights will be increased. We, as the Ministry, will be a follower of whether our airline companies have increased the number of flights in line with this planning we have made. ⁇ He used his words.
12 NEW INTERIOR LIMITS WILL BE STARTED AT THE END OF OCTOBER
Uraloğlu stated that in the summer period of 2024, the average occupancy of carriers in Turkey was at 90 percent. This level is 85% in the winter period due to the decrease in mobility. However, as I have just stated, we have given the necessary notifications to increase the flights to our businesses at the points of need in line with the demands from our citizens.
As a result of the evaluation we made at our meeting, I would like to share here the announcement that 12 new domestic border flights will be started by Sunexpress Airlines with the prestige of the end of October in the coming winter period as a result of the studies we started earlier. ⁇ He said it.
RIZE-ARTVIN AIRPORT-ANTALYA EXPERIENCES START
Minister Uraloğlu, who gave information about the new expeditions, We are launching Rize-Artvin Airport-Antalya, Antalya-Bursa, Antalya-Erzurum, Antalya-Şanlıurfa, İzmir-Elazığ, İzmir-Nevşehir, İzmir-Sivas, İzmir-Şanlıurfa, Çukurova-Bursa, Çukurova-Samsun, Çukurova-Trabzon and Çukurova-Van.
With these flights, we will also expand the domestic border flight network of Çukurova International Airport, which we have just opened.
I wish him well already. Just like Izmir and Antalya ⁇ yi, Anadolu ⁇ da, which received many demands from our citizens at the same time, especially during the summer period; We will connect Bursa, Erzurum, Sivas, Nevşehir, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa cities and increase the number of flights on some borders. ⁇ He used his expressions.
⁇ WE WILL OFFER A MORE ACCESSIBLE AND REACHABLE AIR TRANSPORT TO OUR CITIZENS ⁇
Uraloğlu stated that they also discussed the status of the flights requested urgently at the meeting, ⁇ We have evaluated our domestic border flights based on lines, especially in our provinces based in Istanbul and Ankara, where there is only one flight per day or there are no flights every day of the week. In the next period, I believe that precedent campaigns will increase rapidly within our internal borders.
Our airline companies will complete their feasibility studies as soon as possible and inform our Ministry at which points and how many times they will increase their domestic border flights. After this study, if necessary, we will come together with businesses once again and reveal our roadmap in a clearer form. In this way, we will offer our citizens a more accessible and accessible air transportation. ⁇ He said it.
CEILING PRICE APPLICATION SHOULD BE TRAVELED IN A TIGHT WAY
Uraloğlu said that one of the valuable agenda elements of the meeting was the ceiling price application applied in airline transportation, As you know, since 2012, we have been applying a ceiling price in order for our citizens not to be victims and for each part to be able to use the airway.
Since August; We apply a ceiling price of 2 thousand 500 liras for 80 percent of the tickets on a flight and 4 thousand liras for the remaining 20 percent as a result of the sale of these tickets.
In our meeting, we reminded our businesses once again to comply with the ceiling price application in a strict form. Whether our citizens are happy, we are also tightly controlling this application. ⁇ He used his expressions.
