Turkish Airlines Now Carries Twice as Many Passengers as British Airways

Turkish Airlines is continuing its rapid growth, with the carrier now transporting around twice as many passengers as British Airways.

More than 92 million passengers travelled with Turkish Airlines last year, compared with around 46 million on British Airways, highlighting the scale the Istanbul-based carrier has reached.

Its fleet has grown at a similar pace. Turkish Airlines currently operates around 559 aircraft, roughly twice the size of British Airways’ fleet, with plans to increase that figure to almost 850 aircraft over the coming years.

Chairman Murat Şeker said Turkish Airlines is now “ahead of our peers”, but stressed that becoming the world’s largest international airline is not the company’s main objective.

Speaking about the airline’s position as a major connecting carrier, Şeker said:

“With our fleet and our geography, Turkish Airlines can be the super-connector.”

The airline’s growth has been supported by Istanbul Airport, which has significantly more room to expand than British Airways’ main Heathrow hub. Istanbul handled 8.15 million passengers in July, compared with 7.86 million at Heathrow.

Turkish Airlines is also looking at further growth in the UK.

The airline already serves Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh, with Şeker describing Britain as a very important market and confirming an ambition to add London City Airport in the future.

That raises an interesting question over whether further regional UK expansion could follow.

From an Aviation News UK perspective, Glasgow, Newcastle and Bristol would all be interesting candidates should Turkish Airlines decide to grow beyond its existing UK network.

Each would provide another direct link into Istanbul and access to the airline’s extensive onward network across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

There is currently no confirmation from Turkish Airlines that Glasgow, Newcastle or Bristol are under consideration, and no services to the three airports have been announced.

Further expansion is also planned further afield. Turkish Airlines is preparing to introduce new long-range Airbus A350 aircraft from 2028, which are expected to support nonstop services between Istanbul and Australia as the carrier continues developing its global network.

British Airways meanwhile remains heavily focused on its Heathrow operation and premium long-haul network, particularly across the North Atlantic.

The two airlines operate very different networks, but Turkish Airlines’ continuing fleet growth, access to capacity at Istanbul and ambitions for further international expansion mean the gap in overall scale could continue to widen.