Turkish Airlines 4.4 pct increase in passengers

ANKARA (AA) – Turkish Airlines, the country’s national flag-carrier, announced Tuesday it had increased its total number of passengers by 4.4 percent in the first seven months of 2016 compared to the same period of the previous year.

The total number of passengers during the Jan.-July period was 35.9 million compared to 34.4 million in the same period of 2015, according to a statement from the company.

The number of passengers rose by 5.9 percent on domestic flights and 3.2 percent on international flights, the company said.

Seat occupancy declined from the same period last year by 4.3 percent to 73.7 percent.

Turkish Airlines also added 14 new destinations from last year, giving it a total of 290 destinations worldwide – 49 domestic, 241 international.

Its number of planes increased by 44 to 333, including 11 cargo aircraft, in the first half of the year from 289 in 2015.

The national flag carrier's shares lost nearly five percent on Tuesday trading at 5.32 lira [$1.81].