The number of passengers flying Turkish Airlines (THY) reached 5.7 million this January as it rose by 36.6 percent compared to the same period last year. "The increases in the number of domestic and international passengers were up by 41.1 percent and 32.8 percent, respectively," the airline said in a statement.

During the same period, it also reached the highest load factor (seat occupancy rate) for the month of January, 79.8 percent, with a 7.3-percent increase from January 2017.

The airline's revenue per kilometer also jumped 28.9 percent to $11.4 billion year-on-year in January while its international-to-international transfer passengers increased by 24.9 percent.

On the other hand, it carried more than 86,000 tons of cargo-mail during the period, a 33.5 percent increase from around 64,500 tons in January last year.

THY flies to 300 destinations, 251 international and 49 domestic, worldwide with its fleet of 330 passenger and cargo aircraft. In 2017, it carried more than 68.6 million passengers.

The world airline survey, Skytrax named THY the best in Europe from 2011 to 2016.