Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines ranked second in Europe with an average of 626 daily flights in 2020, the European Organization for Air Navigation Safety (Eurocontrol) said on Saturday.

Turkish Airlines had ranked fourth in the list with 1,331 daily flights in 2019.

Around 5 million flights were operated in Europe in 2020, which means European airspace lost 6.1 million flights last year, compared to 2019, according to the report by Eurocontrol.

Irish low-cost airline Ryanair ranked first, with 951 daily flights, and followed by Turkish Airlines with 626 daily flights.

Turkey's low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines ranked 10th with 261 daily flights.

Istanbul Airport ranked fifth with an average of 504 flights per day in Europe, while another airport in Istanbul, Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, ranked eighth with 339 daily flights, it said.

Stressing that the recovery will take time in the aviation sector, the report noted: "With the widespread use of COVID-19 vaccines, European aviation is expected to be affected positively and there will be stabilization."/aa