ANKARA

Turkish Cargo, a subsidiary company of Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines, continued its growth in the first quarter of this year, despite shrinkage in the global air cargo sector, the company said Thursday.

"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 it operates, Turkish Cargo said.

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

The company flies to 309 destinations in 124 countries with the transportation capacity of Turkish Airlines in addition to its 88 direct cargo markets.