In 1983, the Turkish airline market was liberalized. While before, only public companies were allowed to serve the country's airports, with the enactment of the 1983 Civil Aviation Law, private companies were admitted. As the regulation failed at setting up a competitive environment, the quasi-monopoly of Turkey's national flag carrierTurkish Airlines was further reinforced. It was only in 2003, that major barriers for market entry were erased, leading to a more competitive market, though Turkish Airlines continued to benefit from state support.[2]
As of 2023, Turkish Airlines is one of the major airlines of the world, particularly by its number of international passengers with 83.4 million passengers.[3] Operating scheduled services to 122 countries and 304 destinations all around the world. The Turkish airlines flies to more countries than any other airlines in the world.[4]
Since the 2000s, the country has seen an extraordinary development in civil aviation with a growth ten times faster than the world average. While Turkey's airports only handled 34 million passengers in 2003, the number rose to 105 million in 2010, 52 percent of which were on international flights.[5] In 2012, Turkish airports handled 130 million passengers, making it the sixth-largest aviation market in Europe.[6]
In 2015, Istanbul'sAtatürk Airport handled 61.8 million passengers making it the world's 11th busiest airport at the time.[7] The aging airport was however replaced by the larger Istanbul Airport. With the world's largest airport terminal, initially serving 90 million passengers the new airport will massively expand the passenger capacity, with two more terminals being planned summing up to 150 million passengers per year.[8] By 2035, the new airport is projected to be the world’s largest airport serving 260 million passengers annually.[9]
In the airport sector, construction company Limak İnşaat grew into the position as one of the regional market leaders. In 2007, a Limak joint venture with French company Aéroport de Lyon won the concession tender for Pristina International Airport Adem Jashari.[16] In 2015, the company won the tender for a new terminal building at Kuwait International Airport.[17] Limak is also part of the joint venture that won the tender for Istanbul Airport, Turkey's largest PPP infrastructure project, and due to become the world's largest airport.[8]
Aerospace industry
Turkey has sought for a national aerospace industry since the foundation of the Republic. Under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry for Industry and Technology, Turkey's aircraft industry today is centered on the Turkish Aerospace Inc. (TAI) - founded in 1984 - expanding on a predecessor established in 1973,[18] and Tusaş Engine Industries (TEI). Several indigenous fighter aircraft programs are under development, the most ambitious of which is the air superiority fighterTAI KAAN (started in 2011) for the Turkish Air Force and future export purposes. TAI produces the trainer and light combat aircraft TAI Hürkuş and TAI Hürjet, the attack helicopter T129 ATAK, the UAVsTAI Anka and TAI Aksungur, and several reconnaissance and military satellites such as the Göktürk-3. The private company Baykar is known for its proven tactical UAV Bayraktar TB2.