Budget airlines posted a strong performance last year, and their results were reflected at the annual Changi Airline Awards on Monday.

Of the top 10 performing airlines for passenger carriage, half were low cost carriers.

Among them, SilkAir, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia took second, third and fourth places respectively, behind Singapore Airlines.

Other carriers that made the list were Qantas Airways (5), Cathay Pacific Airways (6), AirAsia (7) and Indonesia AirAsia (8), Emirates (9) and Thai Airways International (10).

Turkish Airlines was named Partner of the Year for its efforts to promote traffic between Singapore and Turkey.

Since 2010, the airline has held joint marketing projects with the airport, and the airline now operates daily flights between Singapore and Istanbul, up from five times a week previously.

Cengiz Inceosman, general manager of Turkish Airlines in Singapore, said the airline also taps on growing interest among eastern European countries like Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine.

Singapore, he said, is seen as an attractive gateway city to the region, and one that also boasts attractive tourism opportunities.

Singapore Airlines Cargo was awarded the top carrier in 2010 by cargo carriage, with Cathay Pacific Airways coming in second, and FedEx Express third.

Cargo movements have seen good growth in the first half of this year, increasing 3.3 percent to over 907,000 tonnes.