By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) – The year 2020 has been the most challenging year of the aviation history, the CEO of Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines said on Thursday.
"2020 will be an unforgettable era for a long time to come due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is already considered the biggest global crisis since World War II," Ilker Ayci said in a statement.
In 2021, the aviation industry, which felt the negative effects deeply, will try to return the pre-2020 figures, he noted.
Ayci said Turkish Airlines was in close contact with international authorities during the pandemic period, and the carrier adapted quickly to the digital transformation by implementing various measures to protect people.
The global COVID-19 pandemic, which appeared initially in China in December 2019, has spread all around the world and affected deeply economic activities, especially tourism, aviation and manufacturing.
Turkey, where the first COVID-19 case was reported in March, took several measures to stem the spread of the virus, including suspending flights.
Turkish Airlines, established in 1933, has a fleet of 363 (passenger and cargo) aircraft flying to 319 worldwide destinations in 127 countries.
