Turkey’s leading low-cost carrier, Pegasus Airlines has revealed the number of guests taking domestic flights in Turkey rose to 9.06 million in the first nine months of the year, a year on year increase of 19.3 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

At the same time, the number of guests on international flights was 5.96 million, translating to growth of 19.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2013.

In the same period, seat capacity rose to 18.63 million with an increase of 19.4 per cent, while the load factor on domestic flights reached 82.7 per cent and those for international flights was 77.7 per cent; equating to an overall total of 80.6 per cent.

In the first nine months of 2014, Pegasus Airlines continued to connect its guests with new destinations in Turkey and beyond.

Increasing its number of destinations to a total of 86 from 71 destinations this time last year, Pegasus Airlines today flies a scheduled service to 30 destinations in Turkey and 56 in the rest of the world, bringing its total network to 86 destinations in 36 countries.

Commenting on the Turkish aviation sector and growth figures, Pegasus Airlines chief executive Sertaç Haybat said: “According to Turkey’s General Directorate of State Airports figures, the aviation sector grew by 11.5 per cent in the first nine months of 2014, compared to the same period last year.

“In that same period, Pegasus Airlines experienced growth 19.4 per cent and thus grew 1.7 times faster than the rest of the Turkish aviation sector.”

Haybat continued: “We recently expanded into the African continent for the first time when we launched our flights to Sharm El Sheikh and Hurghada in October.

“By further adding new routes, we aim to continue our expansion into Europe, the Caucuses, Russia, CIS countries and the Middle East in upcoming months, offering affordable fares for our guests on our routes to Turkey and beyond.”