Development of air cargo transport in Turkey and comparison with OECD countries and Turkey

Air cargo transportation has become an increasingly important sector in the world in recent years and has become an important and inseparable element of world trade. Although air cargo shipments represent a relatively small percentage of world trade in terms of quantity, they constitute approximately 40% in terms of amount. Air cargo transportation; It plays a vital role for the growth of business and industries by providing security and speed advantages to businesses in meeting expectations in the fields of trade, supply chain, competition and expanding marketing. At the same time, it has direct, indirect and catalytic effects on the development of countries. In this study, the air cargo transportation sector of Turkey and OECD group countries has been examined comparatively. As a result of the study, it has been seen that the Turkish air cargo sector has made a significant improvement between the years 2000-2019 compared to OECD countries, its role in world trade has increased, and there are significant opportunities in the near and medium term. The most important opportunity for the Turkish air cargo industry is its geographically central location. The fact that more than 60% of the world's air cargo transportation and traffic is realized on the Europe-Asia-South Asia route is seen as a valuable potential for Turkey. In order for Turkey to develop and compete in the air cargo sector both regionally and globally, it can be suggested to make investments and develop policies for its geographical location. In this context, it is recommended to ensure the integration between conventional logistics operations and the air cargo sector and to work towards becoming a logistics base in all modes.