The first direct flight of Turkey's national air carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) from Istanbul to Toronto took place on Saturday.

The THY passenger jet arrived at Toronto's Airport at 23.30 hours (Turkish local time).

Turkish Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim, Director General of the THY Temel Kotil, several deputies, businessmen and journalists have arrived in Toronto in the same jet.

Speaking at the ceremony to mark THY's first direct flight to Toronto, Yildirim said that the Turkish aviation sector grew immensely in the past five years.

The THY has become a global air carrier after 2002, Yildirim noted.

"THY's number of passengers went up to 25 million from a previous eight million. While average growth in the global civilian aviation is not more than 5-10 per cent, the THY grew by 55 per cent," Yildirim stressed.

"THY is Europe's six biggest air company and it is placed in the first league of aviation. THY provides air service to 960 points across the globe, including Toronto. In THY's first flight to Toronto, more than half of the seats were occupied. I spoke to the passengers and could notice their happiness. They told me that they had lost excessive time in the past as there were no direct flights to Toronto from Istanbul. There were passengers from Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran and Russia in the THY plane and this shows the large amount of travellers from different countries that the THY serves to. It would be very meaningful for the THY to carry passengers to Canada, a country where people from all corners of the world live in," Yildirim also said.