Dunya Special Issue - Air transportation in Turkey is on a sustained growth track despite the global decline of the industry, according to Turkey’s Civil Aviation Authority General Manager Ali Ariduru.

Last year’s economic crisis affected the global aviation industry, with 60 airline companies going out of business. As a result of the downturn, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecasts losses of USD 9 billion in the sector. Turkey’s civil aviation, however, is unaffected by the global decline of the airline industry and continues its growth unhindered. “Turkish companies turned the crisis into an opportunity by making sponsorship deals and forming international partnerships”, said Ariduru, highlighting the growth in the country’s air transportation market, unseen in other countries with saturated air transportation markets.

“Turkish airline companies have rightly analyzed the factors to turn the crisis into an opportunity”, said Ariduru, adding that there are 17 airline companies operating in the Turkish air transportation sector and that 54 new airplanes have been added to the fleet during this year alone.