Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) Monday announced that it will sell fewer tickets to ensure social distancing to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

Bilal Eksi, CEO of the carrier, said on Twitter that the THY would do its part to ensure that one seat would be left empty between each passenger.

Eksi also urged travelers to pay attention to social distancing and obey the one-meter rule when waiting in line at the airport and inside aircraft.

Asking all passengers to put their filter masks on, the CEO called on those with flu-like symptoms not to travel.

The airline has eight round trip flights on Monday in total from Istanbul Airport, according to its press office.

"Due to the decrease in the number of passengers, narrow-bodied planes were put on flights," a THY official told Xinhua.

Throughout the day, the flights would carry a total of 1,062 passengers, who have permission to travel from the governor's office, the press office said.

On Saturday, the THY announced that it reduced the frequency of domestic flights in line with the newly announced measures against the virus.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier said that all international flights would be suspended, and intercity travel across the country would be subject to the permission of governors in each province to better cope with the outbreak of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Istanbul's second-biggest international Sabiha Gokcen Airport was closed to all flights after the Directorate General of Civil Aviation said that the domestic flights would only be provided by the THY.