Turkish Airlines has added three flights to its weekly schedule between Kabul and Istanbul following a rise in demand by its passengers, Afghan aviation officials said Thursday. 

Going forward, Turkish Airlines will have 10 flights a week while it had seven weekly flights previously.

The airlines had for the first time had a flight to Istanbul and back from Istanbul to Kabul. The increase in daily flights by the airlines will add to the incomes of the aviation authority, an official from Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul said.

“Previously, Turkish Airlines had seven flights a week. But going forward, it has added three flights to it due to increasing demand by its customers,” said Mohammad Isa Sadeqi, acting deputy head of operations for Hamid Karzai Airport. “It is a big achievement for the civil aviation authority.”

With this plan, Turkish Airlines will transfer 840 more passengers to Istanbul every week.

The decision will affect local companies, said an official of Ariana Afghan Airlines.

“We should be consulted when a decision is made on flight permission for foreign companies about its impacts on the load factor or whether these flights are applicable,” said Omar Farasat, the deputy head of Ariana Afghan Airlines.

But tourism companies said the decision will benefit their business as it will reduce the cost of tickets for passengers.

“Turkish Airlines passengers are mostly from Europe and the US who will not travel with local companies,” said Massoud Bina, the deputy head of the tourism companies’ association in Kabul.

The Afghanistan Civil Aviation Authority said that local companies so far have not asked for an increase in their flights to Turkey.

According to information by the civil aviation authority, 95% of Turkish Airlines customers are transit passengers.