ANKARA. Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, stated that by the end of 2025 the country’s civil aviation sector had demonstrated steady growth across all key areas. The total number of active pilots increased by 10% compared to the previous year and reached 17,910.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, over the past 23 years Türkiye’s aviation sector has expanded significantly — from fleet size and transport capacity to the geography of domestic and international flights, as well as the number of licensed personnel.
The minister emphasized that Türkiye is located in a unique geographical zone, with 67 countries and a population of about 1.5 billion people within a four-hour flight radius. According to him, this advantage was properly taken into account when shaping the national aviation policy.
“We have launched a period of rapid and successful development in aviation and turned Türkiye into one of the countries with the widest air transport networks in the world,” Uraloğlu noted.
Expansion of the international flight network
While Türkiye had 81 air transport agreements in 2003, their number has now increased to 175. In 2025 alone, negotiations were held with 24 countries and new routes were launched, including Leeds, Newcastle, Bristol, Cork, Port Sudan, Seville and Phnom Penh.
During this period, the number of destinations increased from 60 routes in 50 countries to 356 destinations in 133 countries.
Growth of the aviation fleet and companies
The minister also reported a significant increase in the number of aviation enterprises. If there were 159 companies operating in the sector in 2003, by the end of 2025 their number had grown by 187% to reach 457. These include airlines, air taxi operators, general aviation enterprises and balloon operators.
The number of passenger and cargo aircraft increased nearly fivefold during this period — from 162 to 800 units. The total number of aircraft, including airplanes, air taxis, general aviation aircraft, balloons and ultralight aircraft, reached 2,218.
Increase in passenger and cargo capacity
The seating capacity of passenger aircraft increased from 27,599 seats in 2003 to 157,785 seats in 2025, significantly improving the accessibility of domestic and international air travel.
Air cargo transportation has also gained strategic importance: cargo capacity increased from 302 thousand kilograms to nearly 2.9 million kilograms.
Human resources potential of the sector
As of 2025, 26,888 licensed specialists were employed in Türkiye’s aviation sector. In addition to the increase in the number of pilots to 17,910, the number of licensed technical personnel grew by 8% and reached 8,978 employees.