Turkish Airlines to become world's 6th most valuable carrier in 2023

Türkiye's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines seeks to wash away all traces of the coronavirus pandemic fallout and serve a record number of passengers in 2023, a year during which it expects to become the world's sixth most valuable airline brand, according to its chairperson.

A massive rally in its shares this year pushed the market value of Turkish Airlines (THY) to over 10 billion euros, which currently makes it the 10th most valuable airline company in the world, said Ahmet Bolat, head of the carrier's board and executive committee, Daily Sabah reports.

Backed by a boom in the freight business, the carrier managed to quickly overcome the COVID-19 fallout, boosted its profits and is inching closer to pre-pandemic capacity levels.

"We estimate that we will become the sixth most valuable airline before 2024," Bolat told an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA), also stressing that the carrier is set to fly its billionth passenger in the February-March period.

This success is a testament to its double-digit growth over nearly the last two decades, with exceptions being 2016 and 2020, added Bolat. The company's growth has also been backed by the 2018 launch of Istanbul Airport, as it solved the capacity shortage issue. "Istanbul Airport has a capacity of over 120 takeoffs and landings an hour. The new airport was a must for our growth," he noted.