The total number of pilots in Türkiye increased by 10 percent in 2025 compared to the previous year, reaching 17,910, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has announced.
The number of passenger and cargo aircraft in Türkiye rose to 800 by the end of 2025, he added, citing data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
Uraloğlu emphasized that Türkiye’s civil aviation sector has recorded strong growth over the past 23 years, from aircraft fleets to seat and cargo capacity and from domestic and international flight networks to licensed personnel numbers.
By 2025, 26,888 licensed personnel were employed in the sector.
The number of pilots rose to 17,910, while licensed technical staff increased by 8 percent to 8,978, the minister said.
Uraloğlu highlighted that the number of air transport agreements, which stood at 81 in 2003, has now reached 175. “In 2025, we held negotiations with 24 countries, and since 2002, we have conducted more than 700 negotiations. While flights were operated to 60 destinations in 50 countries in the early 2000s, today we fly to 356 destinations in 133 countries,” he said.
The minister also noted that the total number of aviation enterprises rose from 159 in 2003 to 457 by the end of last year, marking a 187 percent increase.
By the end of 2025, Türkiye had 14 airline companies, 46 air taxi operators, 102 general aviation enterprises and 71 balloon operators, he said.
Uraloğlu noted the growing strategic importance of air cargo transport, pointing out that capacity increased from 302,737 kilograms in 2003 to 2,902,725 kilograms in 2025.
