Turkish Airlines saw passenger numbers recover last year following a period of terror attacks and political upheaval in the country.
The increase of 9.3% to 68.6 million over 2016 came as demand for flights grew.
The carrier made savings in the year having analysed the conditions in Turkey, the region and developments and trends in aviation and tourism sector.
This followed a series of more than a dozen terror attacks throughout the country in 2016 culminating in 39 people being killed and 69 injured in an assault on a nightclub in Istanbul on new year’s day in 2017.
The number of foreign visitors to the country slumped by 30% to a nine year low in 2016 due to security concerns and a failed coup against President Erdogan.
However, the upturn in the flag carrier’s fortunes was confirmed as it reported a 4.7 percentage point rise in its load factor to reach 79.1% last year.
The Star Alliance member also achieved the highest load factor in the airline’s history in December at 79.5%.