Turkish Airlines says 2025 marked another year of strong financial and operational performance for the airline. In this interview, Ahmet Bolat, Turkish Airlines’ Chairman of the Board and Executive Committee, says that both Africa and Asia delivered above-system RPK growth and strengthened the strategic depth of the airline’s network. He, however, said that key risks to the global aviation industry in 2026 include ongoing geopolitical tensions around the world, fuel price volatility and global demand uncertainty. Daniel Obi brings the excerpts.
Turkish Airlines has continued to strengthen its global footprint in recent years. How would you summarise the airline’s overall financial performance in 2025?
2025 marked another year of strong financial and operational performance for Turkish Airlines. Despite extraordinary global developments and significant aircraft and engine supply challenges that deeply affected our industry, we sustained our strong performance. During the year, our total revenues exceeded $24 billion, and our profit from main operations surpassed $2.2 billion. We achieved a successful year by maintaining a balance between growth and profitability, supported by disciplined capacity growth of 7.5% and strong international and premium demand from the passenger segment.
Kindly give us some insights into the financial performance in 2025.
In financial terms, 2025 was marked by strong revenue growth. As I mentioned earlier, our total revenue increased by 6%, exceeding $24 billion for the first time in our history. EBITDAR reached $5.7 billion, reflecting the robustness of our diversified network structure and balanced revenue composition.
At the same time, our free cash flow rose by 38% year-over-year to $2.5 billion, while maintaining a healthy balance sheet, with total assets reaching $46 billion. Our prudent capital allocation approach enabled us to continue investing in fleet expansion, infrastructure, and strategic initiatives without compromising financial stability.
Despite aircraft delivery delays and engine-related constraints affecting the industry, our operational efficiency and cost discipline supported bottom-line resilience. Overall, our 2025 performance reaffirmed our ability to generate sustainable value through a balanced growth strategy and sound financial management.
What were the key drivers behind the 2025 revenue growth? Was it passenger traffic, cargo operations, new routes, or strategic partnerships?
Passenger operations were the key driver of 2025 revenue growth. This performance was supported by strong demand, particularly in international and premium segments, as well as continued network expansion. During the year, we added new destinations such as Sevilla, Ohrid, Port Sudan and Phnom Penh, which further supported both traffic and revenue generation. As a result, passenger capacity increased by 7.5%, and we carried 92.6 million guests over the course of 2025. The continued strong performance of Turkish Technic also supported revenue growth. In cargo, lower unit revenues remained a headwind in a challenging trade environment shaped by trade restrictions, tariff tensions and slowing global trade, although higher volumes partially offset this impact.
Despite global economic headwinds, Turkish Airlines has maintained strong operational resilience. What specific strategies and decisions helped the airline sustain profitability in 2025?
In 2025, our profitability was driven by disciplined, demand-aligned growth rather than aggressive expansion. Systemwide RPK increased by 8.8% to 227 billion, while ASK grew by 7.5% to 273 billion, allowing us to improve our load factor by 1.0 percentage points to 83.2%. This reflects deliberate capacity planning, keeping capacity growing below demand and protecting unit revenues.
We prioritised structurally strong long-haul markets. The Far East delivered 13.0% RPK growth with the load factor rising to 86.4%, while Africa recorded 13.7% RPK growth and a 20.7% increase in passenger numbers. The Middle East also showed double-digit RPK growth at 12.1%. Even in Europe, our largest market, RPK grew 9.1% with stable load factors above 80%. This targeted regional allocation ensured that growth translated into margin contribution.
Our Istanbul hub strategy remained central, maximising transfer flows across Europe–Asia–Africa corridors and enabling us to carry a record number of passengers efficiently. Fleet modernisation improved fuel efficiency per ASK, cushioning cost pressures, while operational optimisation supported asset productivity.
Cargo was another stabilising pillar. Total cargo volumes increased by 8.4% to 2.17 million tonnes, with strong growth in the Far East and North America, reinforcing revenue diversification.
In essence, profitability in 2025 was sustained through calibrated capacity growth, strategic regional focus, hub optimisation, fleet-driven cost efficiency, and a balanced passenger–cargo business model—allowing us to expand scale while simultaneously improving efficiency.
What role did emerging markets, particularly Africa and Asia, play in your 2025 growth story?
Emerging markets were key drivers of our expansion strategy in 2025. Both Africa and Asia delivered above-system RPK growth and strengthened the strategic depth of our network.
In the Far East, RPK increased by 13.0%, significantly above the system average of 8.8%, while ASK grew by 9.5%. This resulted in a 2.7 percentage-point improvement in load factor, reaching 86.4%, the highest among our major regions. These figures demonstrate not only strong demand but also disciplined capacity deployment into high-yield, long-haul markets. The Europe–Asia corridor, powered by our Istanbul hub, remains one of the most strategically efficient traffic flows globally, and 2025 confirmed its strength.
Africa was equally pivotal. RPK grew by 13.7%; ASK expanded by 12.3%; and passenger numbers surged by 20.7%, the highest passenger growth among all regions. The load factor remained stable at 79.5%, confirming healthy demand absorption. Our unmatched network depth across the African continent, with more destinations than any other global carrier, allowed us to capture both point-to-point and transfer traffic. The Activity Reports consistently highlight Africa as a long-term structural growth pillar, and the 2025 data validates that strategy.
Beyond passenger traffic, cargo performance in these regions further strengthened their strategic importance. Cargo volumes grew by 11.7% in the Far East and continued to expand in Africa, reinforcing our dual passenger–cargo model and enhancing revenue diversification.
Strategically, the importance of these emerging markets goes beyond short-term growth. They reduce dependency on mature European markets, increase network diversification, and enhance the competitive advantage of our hub model. By deepening connectivity in Africa and Asia, we strengthened Turkish Airlines’ role as a global bridge carrier linking continents efficiently and profitably.
In 2025, emerging markets were not an opportunistic expansion; they were the outcome of a deliberate long-term network strategy, and they played a decisive role in elevating both our scale and revenue quality.
If you had to point to one defining achievement in 2025, what would it be, and why?
If I had to identify one defining achievement in 2025, it would be our ability to grow both scale and efficiency simultaneously in a volatile global environment. We did not simply carry more passengers; we improved structural performance while expanding.
By year-end 2025, we increased total passengers by 8.8% to 92.6 million, while systemwide RPK also grew by 8.8% and ASK by 7.5%. Because demand outpaced capacity, we improved our load factor to 83.2%. At the same time, cargo volumes grew by 8.4%, reinforcing our diversified revenue structure.
The defining element is not the growth alone; it is the quality of that growth. We expanded in the right markets, improved load factors, strengthened our hub efficiency, modernised our fleet, and preserved profitability despite external pressures. In short, 2025 proved that Turkish Airlines can scale responsibly, manage costs structurally, and deliver sustainable performance even in uncertain conditions.
That combination of growth, discipline, and resilience is what truly defined our year.
Looking ahead to 2026, which operational areas are looking at in 2026 for more revenue streams for the airline?
In 2026, additional revenue will primarily come from targeted network expansion and hub-driven traffic optimisation. The launch of Yerevan, Timișoara, Monrovia, Bissau, Urumqi, and Chengdu strengthens our presence in emerging markets and secondary cities, feeding additional transfer traffic into our long-haul network via Istanbul.
European points like Timișoara enhance feeder connectivity, while West African destinations such as Monrovia and Bissau deepen our structural advantage in Africa. Urumqi and Chengdu expand their reach in Western China, supporting both passenger and cargo flows across Asia–Europe corridors.
These additions are designed to increase revenue per departure through stronger connection combinations, improved aircraft utilisation and integrated belly cargo contribution. The focus is therefore on monetising network depth and hub efficiency rather than simply adding capacity.
What risks do you foresee in 2026, and how is Turkish Airlines positioning itself to mitigate them?
In 2026, key risks include ongoing geopolitical tensions around the world, fuel price volatility and global demand uncertainty. Regional instability may lead to airspace restrictions, longer flight times, and pressure on certain markets, while also contributing to fluctuations in energy prices.
Fuel remains one of the most significant cost variables. To manage this risk, Turkish Airlines applies a structured fuel hedging policy that partially protects against sudden price spikes and improves cost predictability. This financial discipline works alongside structural measures such as fleet modernisation and fuel-efficient aircraft deployment to limit exposure.
At the network level, our geographically diversified route structure reduces dependency on any single region. We retain the operational flexibility to adjust capacity, reroute aircraft, and rebalance traffic flows when necessary. Combined with strong liquidity and balance sheet discipline, these measures position us to manage volatility while maintaining operational and strategic stability in 2026.
Where do you envision Turkish Airlines positioned globally by the end of 2026?
By the end of 2026, we envision Turkish Airlines firmly positioned among the top three airlines globally in both passenger traffic and air cargo and, more importantly, sustaining that position with structural strength.
Our ambition is not defined solely by size but by balanced global scale, operational efficiency, and financial resilience. With continued network expansion into emerging markets, deepened connectivity through Istanbul, and disciplined fleet growth, we aim to further solidify our role as one of the world’s most connected carriers.
On the passenger side, our hub model will continue to differentiate us by efficiently linking Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. On the cargo side, integrated belly capacity and freighter operations will reinforce our global logistics positioning.
Turkish Airlines will not only continue to be among the largest global carriers in volume but also one of the most strategically positioned, combining scale, connectivity, efficiency, and resilience in a sustainable way throughout 2026 as well.
What are the core strategic priorities for Turkish Airlines in 2026, and how do they align with the long-term 2033 targets?
In 2026, our strategic priority is to deliver disciplined growth while safeguarding profitability. Despite geopolitical developments, we started the year with strong operational performance in January and February, supported by solid forward bookings. Based on this momentum, we expect our 2026 EBITDA margin to materialise within our long-term target range of 22–24%.
Our focus remains on calibrated capacity expansion aligned with demand strength, further deepening our global network, particularly through new destinations, and maximising the efficiency of our Istanbul hub. At the same time, we continue to prioritise cost discipline, fuel efficiency, operational reliability, and fleet optimisation to protect unit economics in a volatile environment.
Cargo remains an important structural contributor, reinforcing revenue diversification and supporting network density.
These 2026 priorities are fully aligned with our 2033 vision: strengthening Turkish Airlines’ position among the world’s leading aviation groups in scale, connectivity, and sustainable profitability. Maintaining EBITDA margins within the 22–24% corridor while expanding globally demonstrates that growth and financial discipline are progressing together, forming the foundation for achieving our long-term 2033 objectives.
