The growth trend of the national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) continues as the airline carried nearly 70 million passengers over the first 11 months of this year, the company announced Monday.

The total number of passengers the company flew was up 10 percent year-on-year to 69.7 million in the January-November period.

The airline's seat occupancy rate – passenger load factor – surged 3 percentage points to 82 percent over the same period.

Excluding the transit passenger traffic, the number of international passengers increased by around 12 percent, the company said.

Moreover, total cargo and mail carried in the first 11 months of the year surged by 25 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 1.3 million tons.

The number of passengers the airline carried in November was up 4 percent to 5.5 million.

In November, the total occupancy rate increased by 2 percentage points year-on-year, with occupancy rate in international flights increased by 3 percentage points to 81 percent, while domestic flights reaching an occupancy rate of 84 percent.

The number of transit passengers went up by nearly 8 percent in the said month. On the other hand, excluding the transit passenger traffic, the number of international passengers rose by 13 percent. The volume of cargo and mail carried also increased by 25 percent, with this growth being contributed by North America with 45 percent, Africa with 32 percent, the Far East with 23 percent, and Europe with 21 percent.

The passenger occupancy rate surged by nearly 5 percentage points in Africa, 5 percentage points in North America, 3 percentage points in Far East and 2 percentage points in the Middle East.

THY, founded in 1933, currently flies to over 300 destinations in more than 120 countries, holding the title of the airline that flies to the most number of countries in the world.

THY operates a total of 329 aircraft – 217 narrow-body, 92 wide-body and 20 cargo aircraft – and aims to raise this number to 475 by 2023.

Last year, the airline carried 68.6 million passengers with a 79.1 percent seat occupancy rate.