Turkish Airlines committed to launching Australian routes, but the question is when?

Istanbul, Turkey, November 12, 2015: Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 Aircraft is landing at Trabzon Airport at sunset.
By Zach Havard


Turkish Airlines held a mammoth event at the Crown’s Palladium in Melbourne on Friday night to celebrate the imminent announcement of routes between Istanbul and a yet-to-be-announced Australian airport (or airports).

Taking centre stage at Palladium at Crown Melbourne, Professor Dr Ahmet Bolat shared his goal of connecting Australians to the airline that flies to more countries in the world while promoting Türkiye’s culture and hospitality.

“Türkiye and Australia share a long-standing history of friendship. Our countries may be far apart but our people are very close in heart,” Bolat, said.

“We have had our eyes on Australia for a really long time. The fact that our office in Sydney celebrates its 35th year alone is a testament to Turkish Airlines’ desire to add Australia to our wide flight network.

“The warmth of the Australian people, the large number of Turkish people that have made these lands their home, and the international vision as well as the Australian people’s desire to travel excite us at Turkish Airlines as we look to commence our flights to this beautiful country in the coming future.

“We are eager to add Australia to our network and connect Australian people to the world with our award-winning service quality.

“I am delighted to say that our planning is near its end and we will make an announcement in the upcoming months.”

There was however, some left a little disappointed in the lack of information surrounding the details of the carrier’s launch to Aussie shores.

It is understood the carrier failed to secure the government approval it had hoped to receive prior to Friday’s event so that it could announce the routes, however, the carrier hopes to be flying direct between its international hub in Istanbul and Australia before the end of the decade.

“For direct flights, I believe that A350s are closer to finishing the improvements on the engines and so on so probably in five years we can fly direct between Istanbul to Sydney or Melbourne,” Bolat told Travel Weekly on Friday night.

As of right now, the  industry is no closer to knowing which airport Turkish Airlines will first fly into when it does make it’s debut flight to Australia, though the end goal is to eventually run daily flights from both Sydney and Melbourne and first flights are currently slated for December.

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