A subsidiary of national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkish Cargo, continued its growth in the first quarter of this year despite shrinkage in the global air cargo sector, the company said yesterday.

"Turkish Cargo managed to increase its sold cargo tonnage by 11.6% year-on-year, according to World Air Cargo Data (WACD)," it said in a statement, despite a global shrinkage of 3.1% across the air cargo sector in the first three months of 2019.

Turkish Cargo maintained seventh place on the WACD list, and expressed its intent to be first in growth in its sector.

The flag carrier company grew most in the Asian and American markets from January to March according to the WACD, while enjoying positive results in all regions where it operates, Turkish Cargo said.

"[The] global carrier achieved a growth rate of 15.4% in sold cargo tonnage across the Asian market, which experienced shrinkage of 4.4%, while achieving a growth rate of 29.1% across the American market, which shrunk by 3.1%," the statement read.

Turkish Cargo will carry on operations from Atatürk and Istanbul Airport as a "dual hub" and will have a capacity of handling 4 million tons of cargo annually in the cargo terminal with 300,000 square meters of closed area when all phases of Istanbul Airport are completed.

Atatürk Airport was closed for commercial flights after all operations were moved to Istanbul Airport in March of this year.

Offering service to 124 countries and being the fastest-growing air cargo brand in the world, Turkish Cargo has been carrying out air cargo transportation operations of the national flag carrier THY since 1933.

Thanks to the cargo carrying capacity of THY, Turkish Cargo has reached 309 destinations in 124 countries and carries direct cargo to 88 points with its cargo aircraft fleet. The company is boosting its service quality with its existing infrastructure and investments.

The accomplished air cargo carrier, which evolved into a brand under the title Turkish Cargo in 2000, carried 1.4 million tons in 2018, ranking among the top 10 international air cargo carriers based on data obtained from WACD.