Source: Turkish Airlines
Global aviation industry went through a year of increasing geopolitical tensions and global inflationist pressures while facing operational problems following the Covid-19 pandemic. Turkish Airlines closed 2022 with 2.7 billion USD net profit standing out from its competition thanks to its operational agility, wide flight network and highly skilled workforce it maintained during the pandemic. Our company managed to complete its sixth quarter in a row with a net profit despite the difficult operating environment that persisted since 2020.
Total revenue of our company during 2022 was 18.4 billion USD, surpassing that of 2019 by 39% and marking a record high. Constituting 20% of the total revenues, cargo revenues increased by 120% compared to the same period in 2019 and recorded as approximately 3.7 billion USD.
Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee, Prof. Dr. Ahmet Bolat stated: “As Turkish Airlines we are continuing to overcome every obstacle we encounter with our 90 years of experience. Every single one of our colleagues and their team spirit contributed to our post-pandemic success.
With the responsibility and awareness of being the flag carrier, we are standing with our nation just as we did during previous crises. In the aftermath of the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, we utilized all of our resources to operate over 2,400 flights in order to transport 433 thousand search and rescue teams and 16 thousand tons of aid materials to the region while evacuating 430 thousand of our citizens to date.
We are doing our part when it comes to mending the wounds caused by the earthquakes our country faced and we will continue to do so as the aftermath of the disaster continues to unfold. Apart from the 2 Billion TL cash aid donated to Ministry of Interior Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), we started the work with Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change to provide the necessary support for the construction of 1,000 homes for those rendered homeless due to the earthquakes. We will also plan to employ 1,000 personnel from 1,000 families affected by the earthquakes.”
With one of the youngest and most modern fleet of 394 aircraft, Turkish Airlines carried around 72 million passengers with 85.8% domestic and 80.1% international load factor. In spite of the inflation pressures on the global scale, the flag carrier maintained its effective cost management in 2022 by lowering its unit expenses excluding fuel by 2% compared to 2019. As a result, EBITAR (Earnings before interest, taxes, amortization, and rent), which demonstrates the cash generation potential of the company, realized as 5.4 billion USD.
According to the data published by IATA, the International Air Transport Association, while the global air passenger capacity in 2022 was 28% behind that of 2019, Turkish Airlines became the pioneer of the sector by exceeding its 2019 capacity by 7.5%. As Europe’s leading network carrier in terms of daily number of flights operated for the last three years according to The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), Turkish Airlines recorded remarkable success on a global scale in 2022 by becoming the network carrier offering more international seat capacity than any other. As a result of our country’s investments towards aviation infrastructure, İstanbul Airport was also the busiest airport in Europe.
Quadrupling its market share in air freight market in the last 10 years, our company bolstered its success by ranking fifth among the world’s top air cargo carriers according to IATA’s 2022 data. After moving to SMARTIST, the new cargo operations centre built with high-tech features in İstanbul Airport, Turkish Cargo is aiming to further enhance its position among the leading air cargo brands of the world.
Employing over 75 thousand staff with its subsidiaries, Turkish Airlines is standing by its nation in this challenging period and will continue to proudly fly Türkiye’s flag on the 90th anniversary of its establishment and the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Türkiye.
We sincerely share the pain of our country, express our deepest condolences for our citizens and wish a quick recovery to those injured by the earthquakes.