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Turkish Airlines ( Turkish: ''Türk Hava Yolları'') is the national flag carrier
airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...
of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. , it operates scheduled services to 340 destinations in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
,
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
,
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and the
Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...
, making it the largest mainline carrier in the world by number of passenger destinations. The airline serves more destinations non-stop from a single airport than any other airline in the world and flies to 126 countries, more than any other airline. With an operational fleet of 24
cargo aircraft A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger a ...
, the airline's cargo division serves 82 destinations. The airline's corporate headquarters are at the Turkish Airlines General Management Building on the grounds of
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
in Yeşilköy, Bakırköy,
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
.
Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport ( tr, İstanbul Havalimanı, ) is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transfer ...
in Arnavutköy is the airline's main base, and there are secondary hubs at
Ankara Esenboğa Airport Ankara Esenboğa Airport ( tr, Ankara Esenboğa Havalimanı) is the international airport of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It has been operating since 1955. In 2017, the airport has served more than 15 million passengers in total, 13 milli ...
and İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport. Turkish Airlines has been a member of the Star Alliance network since 1 April 2008.


History


Early years

Turkish Airlines was established on 20 May 1933 as ''Turkish State Airlines'' ( Turkish: ''Devlet Hava Yolları'') as a department of the Ministry of National Defense. The airline's initial fleet consisted of two five-seat Curtiss Kingbirds, two four-seat Junkers F 13s and one ten-seat Tupolev ANT-9. The first flight route was from Turkish capital Ankara to Istanbul with a stopover in Eskişehir. In 1935, the airline was turned over to the Ministry of Public Works and was subsequently renamed ''General Directorate of State Airlines''. Three years later, in 1938, it became part of the
Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ...
.


Postwar period

Several
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
s and Douglas C-47s were phased in during 1945. Being initially set up as a domestic carrier, the airline commenced international services with the inauguration of
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...
flights in 1947; with the DC-3s and C-47s enabling the carrier to expand its network. Nicosia,
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
and
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...
were soon added to the airline's international flight destinations. However, domestic services remained the carrier's primary focus until the early 1960s. In 1956, the Turkish government reorganized the airline under the name ''Türk Hava Yolları A.O.'' (often abbreviated as THY). It was capitalized at TRY 60 million. The airline joined the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shortly thereafter. In 1957, British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) began supplying technical support after acquiring a 6.5 percent shareholding, which it held for about 20 years. New aircraft including
Vickers Viscount The Vickers Viscount is a British medium-range turboprop airliner first flown in 1948 by Vickers-Armstrongs. A design requirement from the Brabazon Committee, it entered service in 1953 and was the first turboprop-powered airliner. The Vi ...
s, Fokker F27s and
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
s were added to the fleet in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Turkish Airlines began operating their first jet, a
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is an American five-abreast single-aisle aircraft designed by the Douglas Aircraft Company. It was initially produced by the developer company as the Douglas DC-9 until August 1967 and then by McDonnell Douglas. Afte ...
, in 1967. This was followed by the addition of three
Boeing 707 The Boeing 707 is an American, long-range, narrow-body airliner, the first jetliner developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype first flown in 1954, the initial first flew on December 2 ...
jets in 1971. Other aircraft operated in the early 1970s included the
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
and the Fokker F28 which were put into service in 1972 and 1973 respectively.


1980s and 1990s

The airline was plagued by several issues in the 1980s and 90s. It developed a reputation for poor service compared to competitors and flight delays, with 47 out of 100 flights not departing on time. It also endured hijackings and suffered seven accidents between 1974 and 1983. The most notorious was the 1974 crash of
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a scheduled flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. On 3 March 1974, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed in ...
, when an aircraft design flaw led to a faulty cargo door breaking off in flight near
Ermenonville Ermenonville () is a commune in the Oise department, northern France. Ermenonville is notable for its park named for Jean-Jacques Rousseau by René Louis de Girardin. Rousseau's tomb was designed by the painter Hubert Robert, and sits on the Isl ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, resulting in the deaths of 346 people. A new government came to power in 1983 which recognized THY's importance as Turkey's gateway to the world, beginning the airline's makeover into a modern operation. It would go on to maintain one of the youngest fleets in the world. Security was intensified, causing one shipper to compare it to Israel's El Al, at least in terms of delays. THY built a new, state-of-the-art technical center at Yeşilköy Airport in 1984. The airline was capable of both light and heavy maintenance on many different aircraft types. The technical staff then made up one-quarter of the airline's 6,000 employees, according to Air Transport World. In 1984, the company's capital was raised to 60 billion TL as it was classified as a state economic enterprise. Three years later, the capital was raised again, to 150 billion TL. By the mid-1980s, THY had a fleet of 30 aircraft. It was flying approximately three million passengers a year to 16 domestic destinations and three dozen international ones. The airline was Turkey's largest source of foreign currency. Turkish Airlines began operating Airbus A310s in 1985, allowing the addition of flights to Singapore in 1986. A route to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
via
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
was added in 1987. The company posted losses in 1987 and 1988, largely due to high payments on its dozen new Airbus A310s, according to Air Transport World. The fleet also included 11
Boeing 727 The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller air ...
s and nine Douglas DC-9s. THY ended the decade with 8,500 employees. The airline ordered five Airbus A340 aircraft with option for five more in 1990 to be able to fly to
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...
n and
East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
n destinations non-stop. The first A340 was delivered three years later, in 1993. The company suffered in the global aviation crisis following the Persian Gulf War and would not
break-even Break-even (or break even), often abbreviated as B/E in finance, (sometimes called point of equilibrium) is the point of balance making neither a profit nor a loss. Any number below the break-even point constitutes a loss while any number above it ...
again until 1994. However, the business was again booming in the mid-1990s, with the greatest growth coming from North American destinations. THY launched a nonstop flight to New York City in July 1994. The company's capital continued to be raised, reaching 10 trillion TL in 1995. During that year, the airline also converted three of its Boeing 727s to dedicated freighters. The DC-9s had been sold off. The company posted a $6 million profit on revenues of $1 billion for the year. While profitable, THY had to contend with Turkey's exorbitant inflation, making capital improvements difficult. The domestic market was deregulated in 1996, allowing new scheduled competition from charter airlines. At the same time, larger international carriers were providing stiff competition on routes to Western Europe. THY entered into marketing agreements with other international airlines to enhance their competitiveness. The company teamed with Japan Airlines to offer service to
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and
Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
in 1997 and 1998. Other jointly operated flights soon followed with Austrian Airlines, Swissair, and Croatia Airlines. In 1997, THY began to operate flights to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
as second destination in the US.


21st century

A new terminal opened in January 2000 at Istanbul's
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
. Turkish Airlines continued to extend their international reach, forging marketing agreements with Asiana Airlines,
American Airlines American Airlines is a major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the largest airline in the world when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and revenue passeng ...
,
Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (The ...
,
LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (corporation), S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of List of airlines by foundat ...
,
Czech Airlines Czech Airlines j.s.c. (abbreviation: ČSA, cz, České Aerolinie, a.s.) is the flag carrier of the Czech Republic. Its head office is located in the Vokovice area of Prague's 6th district and its hub is Václav Havel Airport Prague. The c ...
and Cathay Pacific in 2000. On 29 October 2000, THY withdrew from the
Swissair Swissair AG/ S.A. (German: Schweizerische Luftverkehr-AG; French: S.A. Suisse pour la Navigation Aérienne) was the national airline of Switzerland between its founding in 1931 and bankruptcy in 2002. It was formed from a merger between Bal ...
-led Qualiflyer alliance to help attract a strategic investor for their privatization. The airline had been part of the alliance's frequent-flyer program since November 1998. An Antalya-Frankfurt route was added in 2001 through a code-sharing agreement with Sun Express. Turkey underwent an economic crisis throughout most of 2001, leading to a reduction in traffic on domestic routes in particular. THY managed to survive after the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
on the United States without a government bailout or mass layoffs, although 300 middle management positions were eliminated, 400 part-timers were laid off and wages were cut 10 percent. Turkish Daily News credited the airline's survival to entrepreneurial management, which was quick to get rid of loss-making routes at home and abroad. In 2003, the war in Iraq prompted Turkish Airlines to close some routes in the Persian Gulf, while flights to Asia were suspended during the SARS epidemic. However, the airline soon recovered, increasing traffic on existing routes and adding service to
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
after an 11-year lapse. Another fleet expansion program kicked off in 2004, helping THY maintain one of the youngest fleets in Europe. In July that year, the airline announced a massive $2.8 billion order of 36 jets from
Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
, plus an order for 15 Boeing 737s. THY was not just ordering new planes. It was planning to spend $350 million on a new technical and training facility at Istanbul's underutilized Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. The airline had built up a significant technical services operation, maintaining not just their aircraft but those of third parties. Turkish Technic employed 2,700 workers and was planning to hire another 2,000 by 2010. THY also had three flight simulators and offered flight training services. The airline faced the entry of new competitors into the liberalizing Turkish aviation market. However, tourism was booming, with 20 million people expected to visit the country in 2005 versus 12 million in 2003. THY divested its 50% holding in
Cyprus Turkish Airlines Cyprus Turkish Airlines Limited ( tr, Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları Ltd. Şti. (KTHY)) was a Turkish Cypriot airline that served as the flag carrier for Northern Cyprus. Until its collapse in June 2010, Cyprus Turkish Airlines was the primary air ...
(''Kıbrıs Türk Hava Yolları'') in 2005. Although the company was publicly traded at this time, the government-owned 98% of its shares. The privatization program was revived in 2004 with a public offering of 20% of shares on the
Istanbul Stock Exchange The Borsa İstanbul (abbreviated as BIST) is the sole exchange entity of Turkey combining the former Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE) ( tr, İstanbul Menkul Kıymetler Borsası, IMKB), the Istanbul Gold Exchange ( tr, İstanbul Altın Borsası, İ ...
. The Turkish government-owned 75% of shares after the offering, which raised $170 million. Currently, the Republic of Turkey's Prime Ministry Privatization Administration owns a 49.12% interest in THY, while 50.88% of shares are publicly traded. On 1 April 2008, Turkish Airlines joined the Star Alliance after an 18-month integration process beginning in December 2006, becoming the seventh European airline in the 20-member alliance. In December 2011, the Turkish government unveiled plans to modernize the
Aden Adde International Airport Aden Adde International Airport ( so, Garoonka Caalamiga Ee Aadan Cadde, ar, مطار آدم عدي الدولي) , formerly known as Mogadishu International Airport, is an international airport serving Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. It ...
in
Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port ...
,
Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...
, which became one of the newest flight destinations of the carrier in 2012. The rehabilitation project is part of Turkey's broader engagement in the local post-conflict reconstruction process. Among the scheduled renovations are new airport systems and infrastructure, including a modern control tower to monitor the airspace. In March 2012, Turkish Airlines became the first international carrier to resume flights to Somalia since the start of that country's
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
in the early 1990s. By the end of 2013, Turkish Airlines had increased their number of flight points to 241 destinations worldwide (199 international and 42 domestic). In the wake of the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt, the
Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
temporarily banned flights between Turkey and the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. This posed a particular problem for Turkish Airlines as a key component of the airline's strategy was to deliver one-stop journeys between the US and hard-to-reach destinations in Africa, the Middle East, and India. This ban was lifted on 18 July, and Turkish Airlines resumed flights to the U.S. on 19 July after a three-day disruption. In August 2016, Turkish Airlines announced a profit collapse to a loss of 198 million Euros for the second quarter of 2016 while expecting an overall loss of 10 million passengers for 2016. The airline already announced significant reductions in operations for the upcoming 2016–2017 schedule period with frequency cuts to 45 European and 13 intercontinental routes. Turkish Airlines also announced an overall record loss of 1.9 billion Turkish Lira ($644.4 million) for the first half of 2016. The following year saw the airline recover, with financial results for 2017 showing an almost 35% increase in turnover, and a return to profitability. From 29th of October 2018, Turkish Airlines began to move passenger flights partially to newly built
Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport ( tr, İstanbul Havalimanı, ) is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transfer ...
. After 7th of April, THY relocated all passenger flights and operations to it's new hub Istanbul Airport. In February 2022, Turkish Cargo, the airline's freight subsidiary, relocated all cargo flights and operations from their former base at
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
to the
Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport ( tr, İstanbul Havalimanı, ) is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transfer ...
.


Corporate affairs

The airline head office is in the Turkish Airlines General Management Building at
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
in Yeşilköy, Bakırköy.


Key people

On 26 January 2022,
İlker Aycı Mehmet İlker Aycı (born 1971, Istanbul) is a Turkish businessperson. Aycı was the advisor of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 1994 and served as the CEO of several Turkish companies before becoming the chairman of Turkish Airlines from 2015 to 2022. H ...
resigned from his position as chairman of the airline. During the board meeting the next day,
Ahmet Bolat Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...
was elected to become the new chairman. Bilal Ekşi holds the
deputy chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
positions.


Business trends

The key trends for Turkish Airlines for the past 15 years are shown below (as of December 2018):


Destinations

, Turkish Airlines flies to 340 destinations in 129 countries, including 53 domestic and 12 in the United States.


Codeshare agreements

Turkish Airlines codeshares with the following airlines: *
Aegean Airlines Aegean Airlines S.A. ( el, Αερογραμμές Αιγαίου Ανώνυμη Εταιρεία ''Aeroporía Aigaíou Anónimi Etairía'', ) is the flag carrier airline of Greece and the largest Greek airline by total number of passengers carr ...
* Air Albania * Air Algérie * Air Astana * Air Canada * Air China * Air Europa * Air India * Air Malta * Air Moldova * Air New Zealand *
Air Serbia Air Serbia (stylised as ''AirSERBIA''; sr, / ) is the flag carrier of Serbia. The company's headquarters is located in Belgrade, Serbia, and its main hub is Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. The airline was known as Jat Airways until it was r ...
*
All Nippon Airways , also known as ANA (''Ē-enu-ē'') or is an airline in Japan. Its headquarters are located in Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area of Minato ward of Tokyo. It operates services to both domestic and international destinations and had m ...
* Asiana Airlines * Avianca * Azerbaijan Airlines *
Azul Brazilian Airlines Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras S/A (''Azul Brazilian Airlines''; or simply Azul) is a Brazilian carrier based in Barueri, a suburb of São Paulo. The company's business model is to stimulate demand by providing frequent and affordable air serv ...
*
Bangkok Airways Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited ( th, บางกอกแอร์เวย์ส) is a regional airline based in Bangkok, Thailand. It operates scheduled services to destinations in Thailand, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Laos, M ...
* Batik Air Malaysia * Belavia * Copa Airlines * Croatia Airlines * EgyptAir * Ethiopian Airlines * Etihad Airways *
EVA Air EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated ca ...
* Finnair *
Garuda Indonesia Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, op ...
*
Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes S.A ("Gol Intelligent Airlines S.A." also known as VRG Linhas Aéreas S/A) is a Brazilian low-cost airline based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil (ANAC), betwee ...
* Gulf Air * Hawaiian Airlines * Hong Kong Airlines *
IndiGo Indigo is a deep color close to the color wheel blue (a primary color in the RGB color space), as well as to some variants of ultramarine, based on the ancient dye of the same name. The word "indigo" comes from the Latin word ''indicum'', ...
* JetBlue * Kuwait Airways *
LOT Polish Airlines LOT Polish Airlines, legally incorporated as Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (corporation), S.A. (, ''flight''), is the flag carrier of Poland. Established in 1928, LOT was a founding member of IATA and remains one of List of airlines by foundat ...
*
Lufthansa Deutsche Lufthansa AG (), commonly shortened to Lufthansa, is the flag carrier of Germany. When combined with its subsidiaries, it is the second- largest airline in Europe in terms of passengers carried. Lufthansa is one of the five founding ...
* Luxair *
Malaysia Airlines Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB; ms, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS; ), and branded as Malaysia Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Malaysia and a member of the Oneworld airline alliance. (The ...
*
Middle East Airlines Middle East Airlines – Air Liban S.A.L. ( ar, طيران الشرق الأوسط ـ الخطوط الجوية اللبنانية ''Ṭayyarān al-Sharq al-Awsaṭ – al-Khuṭūṭ al-jawiyyah al-lubnāniyyah''), more commonly known as Middle ...
*
Oman Air Oman Air ( ar, الطيران العماني) is the national airline of the Sultanate of Oman. Based at Muscat International Airport in Seeb, Muscat, it operates domestic and international passenger services, as well as regional air taxi a ...
*
Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Aviation Secretary of Pakistan, Secretary to the Governme ...
* Philippine Airlines * Royal Air Maroc * Royal Brunei Airlines *
Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines ( ar, ; transliterated: ''Al-Malakiyyah al-'Urduniyyah''), formerly known as Alia Royal Jordanian Airlines, is the flag carrier airline of Jordan with its head office in the capital, Amman. The airline operates schedu ...
*
RwandAir RwandAir Limited is the flag carrier airline of Rwanda. It operates domestic and international services to East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Southern Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, from its main base at Kigali International Ai ...
*
Scandinavian Airlines Scandinavian Airlines, more commonly known and styled as SAS, is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''SAS'' is an abbreviation of the company's full name, Scandinavian Airlines System or legally Scandinavian Airlines System Denmar ...
*
Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines ( abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in corporat ...
* TAP Air Portugal * TAROM *
Thai Airways Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (, th, บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate h ...
* Ukraine International Airlines *
United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.
* Utair *
Uzbekistan Airways JSC Uzbekistan Airways, operating as ''Uzbekistan Airways'' ( uz, Oʻzbekiston Havo Yoʻllari, ; russian: Узбекские Авиалинии), is the flag carrier airline of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub at Islam Kari ...


Interline agreements

Turkish Airlines has
interline agreement Interlining, also known as interline ticketing and interline booking, is a voluntary commercial agreement between individual airlines to handle passengers traveling on itineraries that require multiple flights on multiple airlines. Such agreement ...
s with the following airlines: *
Austrian Airlines Austrian Airlines AG, often shortened to Austrian, is the flag carrier of Austria and a subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group. The airline is headquartered on the grounds of Vienna International Airport in Schwechat where it also maintains its ...
* Loganair * Swiss International Air Lines


Fleet

Turkish Airlines operates a fleet of 388 aircraft, consisting of 13 passenger aircraft types. The airline started operations in 1933 with five aircraft, which grew to 52 in 1945 after the addition of
Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper versi ...
s used in the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
. This made Turkish Airlines the largest carrier in the Middle East. The first jet-engined aircraft of the airline was a Douglas DC-9, which joined the fleet in 1967. The first wide-body Douglas DC-10 was added in 1972. The airline made major changes to its fleet development in late-1980s, when the first Airbus A310 arrived, and the Airbus A340 was ordered. The first Boeing 737s arrived a few years later. Throughout 2004, the airline ordered over 50 aircraft both from Boeing and Airbus. Three Boeing 777-300s were leased in 2008, and later ordered 12 more from Boeing. In 2013, the airline ordered almost 200 aircraft. The airline ordered 25 each of the
Boeing 787-9 The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
and
Airbus A350-900 The Airbus A350 is a long-range, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner developed and produced by Airbus. The first A350 design proposed by Airbus in 2004, in response to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, would have been a development of the A330 ...
in March 2018, which started delivery in 2019 and 2020 respectively.


Frequent-flyer programme

''Miles & Smiles'' is the frequent-flyer programme of Turkish Airlines, inaugurated in 2000 after the airline left Qualiflyer. Earned miles can be used on Turkish Airlines flights, as well as on flights operated by the entire Star Alliance network. Miles&Smiles Classic Plus members are entitled to Star Alliance Silver benefits, while Elite and Elite Plus Miles & Smiles status entitles the member to Star Alliance Gold benefits.


Miles & Smiles Credit Card

Members of the frequent flyer programme also earn miles when paying their purchases with their Miles & Smiles credit card. Currently residents of
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
,
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
are offered with Miles & Smiles credit card by programme member local banks. Credit cards can be issued in form of
American Express American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation, multinational corporation specialized in payment card industry, payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Man ...
, Mastercard and/or Isracard.
There are also agreements with specific banks in countries across America,
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
and
Oceania Oceania (, , ) is a geographical region that includes Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Spanning the Eastern and Western hemispheres, Oceania is estimated to have a land area of and a population of around 44.5 million ...
for earning and spending miles.


Turkish Airlines Corporate Club

''Turkish Airlines Corporate Club'' is a kind of programme created for corporates. The Club allows its members to easily arrange business travels with special benefits.
The Corporate Club is a part of Universal Air Travel Plan Network (UATP).


Sponsorship and promotion agreements

Turkish Airlines has been the official carrier of several European football clubs such as Galatasaray, Manchester United,
FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...
,
Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
, Olympique de Marseille, Aston Villa,
FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sar ...
, and
Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betw ...
. The airline has also made sponsorship and promotion deals with renowned athletes and actors, including
Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the g ...
, Kobe Bryant, Caroline Wozniacki,
Kevin Costner Kevin Michael Costner (born January 18, 1955) is an American actor, producer, film director and musician. He has received various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Screen Actor ...
, Wayne Rooney, and Didier Drogba. The company has been the primary sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague since 2010 and was among the sponsors of the
2010 FIBA World Championship The 2010 FIBA World Championship was the 16th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from 28 August to 12 September 2010. It was co-organised by the Inte ...
. On 22 October 2013, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague signed an agreement to prolong their existing sponsorship deal by five years until 2020. Turkish Airlines is the sponsor of the
Turkish Airlines Open The Turkish Airlines Open is a European Tour golf tournament played annually in Turkey since 2013. In both 2013 and 2014 the tournament was the penultimate event of the European Tour Final Series. The first three tournaments were held at the Mont ...
, a European Tour
golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
tournament played annually in Turkey since 2013. Turkish Airlines was the kit sponsor of Galatasaray for the
2014–15 UEFA Champions League The 2014–15 UEFA Champions League was the 60th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 23rd season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pl ...
and Bosnian club
FK Sarajevo Fudbalski klub Sarajevo (; English: Sarajevo Football Club) is a professional football club based in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. Founded on 24 October 1946, FK Sar ...
. Since then, the airline has continued its sponsorship of Galatasaray and has also been the kit sponsor for the European campaigns of other Turkish clubs such as Trabzonspor and Başakşehir. On 10 December 2015, Turkish Airlines and
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
signed a sponsorship deal for the UEFA Euro 2016, becoming the first airline sponsor of
UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...
tournaments. On 29 January 2016, Turkish Airlines announced its partnership with Warner Bros. to sponsor the film '' Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice''. In the movie, a pivotal scene unfolds aboard a Turkish Airlines A330. That year, the airline also teamed up with a number of Turkish tourist agencies in the production of the
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...
film ''Non-Transferable''. On 14 September 2018, Turkish Airlines and Lega Basket Serie A, the top-tier professional basketball league in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
, signed a sponsorship agreement, making the airline an official partner for the
2018–19 LBA season The 2018–19 LBA season, also known as Serie A PosteMobile for sponsorship reasons, was the 97th season of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA), the men's top tier professional basketball division of the Italian basketball league system (LBA). The regul ...
. In February 2019, Turkish Airlines arranged to become partial sponsors for
League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division ( ga, Céad Roinn Sraith na hÉireann), also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division, is the second level division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. Th ...
side
Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is a semi-professional Irish association football club based in Drogheda, County Louth playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division. They play their home matches ...
. In August 2019, Turkish Airlines reached an agreement with
Club Atlético River Plate Club Atlético River Plate, commonly known as River Plate, is an Argentine professional sports club based in the Núñez neighborhood of Buenos Aires. Founded in 1901, the club is named after the English name for the city's estuary, Río de la ...
to become the main sponsor of the Argentine sports club for the next three seasons. Prior to the start of the 2022–23 season, Turkish Airlines becomes the official global sponsors of the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
and the Super Cup, UEFA Youth League and the Futsal Champions League for the remainder of the 2021–24 cycle after
UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs fo ...
agreed to sponsor in the next 2 seasons.


Turkish Airlines Flight Academy

Turkish Airlines Flight Academy was established by the 28th THY Board on 10 November 2004, and started training with 16 cadets on 1 May 2006. The Flight Academy is based at
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
and uses Aydın Çıldır Airport for training activities. The ever-growing flight academy fleet consists of the following 25 aircraft, 19 of which are single-engine and 6 of which are multi-engine aircraft: * 13 Cessna 172S NAVIII * 6 Diamond DA-40 * 6
Diamond DA-42 The Diamond DA42 Twin Star is a four seat, twin engine, propeller-driven airplane developed and manufactured by the People's Republic of China, Chinese-owned, Austria-based company Diamond Aircraft Industries. It was Diamond's first twin engin ...
NG


Turkish Airlines Maintenance Center

Turkish Airlines' maintenance, repair and overhaul ( MRO) center, Turkish Technic, was incorporated in 2006 and is responsible for the maintenance of Turkish Airlines and other third party aircraft within eight
hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...
s. Capabilities include airframe,
landing gear Landing gear is the undercarriage of an aircraft or spacecraft that is used for takeoff or landing. For aircraft it is generally needed for both. It was also formerly called ''alighting gear'' by some manufacturers, such as the Glenn L. Mart ...
, APU and other subsystems. Turkish Technic opened an
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ...
center in partnership with Pratt & Whitney called
TEC (Turkish Engine Center) Turkish Engine Center (TEC) is a joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and Turkish Technic for the maintenance, overhaul and repair of turbofan aircraft CFM56 and V2500 engines. TEC is located at Istanbul’s second international airport, Sabiha ...
in January 2010 at Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). The facility provides engine MRO services to customers worldwide. Turkish Technic was based at
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
within two hangars. It bought out MNG Technic along with its hangars, and the main complex moved to SAW with the building of two new hangars. Two smaller hangars are also located at
Ankara Esenboğa Airport Ankara Esenboğa Airport ( tr, Ankara Esenboğa Havalimanı) is the international airport of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It has been operating since 1955. In 2017, the airport has served more than 15 million passengers in total, 13 milli ...
. Additional hangars are being built at the new
Istanbul Airport Istanbul Airport ( tr, İstanbul Havalimanı, ) is the main international airport serving Istanbul, Turkey. It is located in the Arnavutköy district on the European side of the city. All scheduled commercial passenger flights were transfer ...
to accommodate the operator's growing fleet.


Incidents and accidents

In its history, Turkish Airlines has suffered a total of 19 incidents and accidents of which 15 were fatal. A total of 68 crew, 835 passengers and 35 people on the ground have been killed. * On 17 February 1959, a Vickers Viscount Type 793, registration TC-SEV, operating a
charter flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...
carrying Turkish Prime Minister
Adnan Menderes Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...
and a governmental delegation to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
for the signing of the London-Zürich Agreements, crashed in dense fog on approach to
London Gatwick Airport Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...
. Nine of the sixteen passengers and five of the eight crew lost their lives. Adnan Menderes, who was sitting in the back part of the aircraft, survived the accident. * On 23 September 1961,
Turkish Airlines Flight 835 Turkish Airlines Flight 835 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Adana Şakirpaşa Airport, Adana to Esenboğa International Airport, Ankara, Turkey. On 23 September 1961 at 20:02 EET (18:02 UTC), the aircraft operating the flight, ...
, a Fokker F27-100 registered as TC-TAY, crashed at Karanlıktepe in Ankara Province on approach to Esenboğa Airport. All of the 4 crew and 24 of the 25 passengers on board were killed. * On 8 March 1962, a Fairchild F-27, registration TC-KOP, crashed into the Taurus Mountains on approach to Adana Şakirpaşa Airport. All three crew and all eight passengers on board died. * On 3 February 1964, a Douglas C-47, registered as TC-ETI, on a domestic cargo flight, flew into terrain whilst on approach to Esenboğa Airport, Ankara. All three crew members on board were killed. * On 2 February 1969, a Vickers Viscount Type 794, registered as TC-SET, crashed on approach to Esenboğa Airport. There were no casualties. * On 26 January 1974,
Turkish Airlines Flight 301 Turkish Airlines Flight 301 was a passenger flight operated by a Fokker F28-1000 Fellowship of Turkish Airlines registered as TC-JAO that crashed during takeoff at İzmir Cumaovası Airport on 26 January 1974 while en route to Istanbul Yeş ...
, a Fokker F28-1000 registered as TC-JAO crashed shortly after takeoff from Izmir Cumaovası Airport due to atmospheric icing on the wings. The aircraft disintegrated and caught fire, killing 4 of the 5 crew and 62 of the 68 passengers on board. * On 3 March 1974,
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 was a scheduled flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to London Heathrow Airport, with an intermediate stop at Orly Airport in Paris. On 3 March 1974, the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 operating the flight crashed in ...
, a
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
registered as TC-JAV, crashed into
Ermenonville Forest The Ermenonville Forest (french: Forêt d'Ermenonville) is a state-owned forest in Oise, France. On 3 March 1974, Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in the forest and in the commune of Fontaine-Chaalis, killing all 346 people on board."Accid ...
,
Fontaine-Chaalis Fontaine-Chaalis () is a commune in the Oise department in northern France. On 3 March 1974 Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in this commune, in the Ermenonville Forest."Accident Details." Accident to Turkish Airlines DC-10 TC-JAV in the Erme ...
, Oise,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
due to explosive decompression, killing all 335 passengers and 11 crew on board. The main cause was a design fault on the cargo doors of the
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 The McDonnell Douglas DC-10 is an American trijet wide-body aircraft manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. The DC-10 was intended to succeed the DC-8 for long- range flights. It first flew on August 29, 1970; it was introduced on August 5, 19 ...
which led to incomplete engagement of the door locking mechanism on the aircraft in question, and consequent opening of one door in flight. * On 30 January 1975, Turkish Airlines Flight 345, a Fokker F28-1000 registration TC-JAP, crashed into the Sea of Marmara during final approach to Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport. All 4 crew and all 38 passengers on board the aircraft were killed. * On 19 September 1976, a Boeing 727-200 registered as TC-JBH operating Turkish Airlines Flight 452 from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to Antalya Airport struck high ground in the Karatepe Mountains during an attempted landing in Isparta instead of
Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...
by pilot error. All eight crew and 146 people on board the aircraft perished in the accident. * On 23 December 1979, a Fokker F28-1000, registration TC-JAT, on a flight from
Samsun-Çarşamba Airport Samsun Çarşamba Airport ( tr, Samsun Çarşamba Havalimanı) is a public airport in Samsun, Turkey. Opened in 1998, it is 23 km from Samsun. The airport consists of one terminal. Passengers board aircraft from ladder trucks on the tarmac. Th ...
to Esenboğa Airport, struck a hill in Kuyumcuköy village in Çubuk,
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, northeast of its destination airport in severe turbulence. Three of the four crew and 38 of the 41 passengers on board were killed. * On 16 January 1983,
Turkish Airlines Flight 158 Turkish Airlines Flight 158 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Istanbul Yeşilköy Airport to Ankara Esenboğa Airport, Turkey. On 16 January 1983, the aircraft operating the flight, a Boeing 727-200, landed about short of the runw ...
, a Boeing 727-200 registered as TC-JBR, landed about 50 m (160 ft) short of the runway at Esenboğa Airport in driving snow, broke up and caught fire. All of the 7 crew survived; however, of the 60 passengers on board, 47 were killed. * On 29 December 1994, Turkish Airlines Flight 278, a
Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
registration TC-JES, crashed during its final approach to Van Ferit Melen Airport in driving snow. Five of the seven crew and 52 of the 69 passengers died. * On 7 April 1999, Turkish Airlines Flight 5904, a
Boeing 737-400 The Boeing 737 Classic is a series of narrow-body airliners produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes, the second generation of the Boeing 737 series of aircraft. Development began in 1979 and the first variant, the 737-300, first flew in Februa ...
registered as TC-JEP on a repositioning flight, crashed near Ceyhan,
Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...
shortly after taking off from Adana Şakirpaşa Airport. There were no passengers on board, but all six crew members perished in the accident. * On 8 January 2003, Turkish Airlines Flight 634, an Avro RJ-100 registration TC-THG, crashed on approach to Diyarbakır Airport,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. Of the 80 people on board, all five crew and 70 passengers were killed. * On 3 October 2006,
Turkish Airlines Flight 1476 Turkish Airlines Flight 1476 (TK1476) was a Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-4Y0 flying from Tirana to Istanbul that was hijacked by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace on 3 October 2006. Ekinci demanded to go to Rome to speak with the Pope, but Greek and ...
en route from
Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
,
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and share ...
to
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
was hijacked by Turkish citizen Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace. The hijacker surrendered after a forced landing in Brindisi, Italy. * On 25 February 2009, Turkish Airlines Flight 1951, a Boeing 737-800 registered as TC-JGE carrying 128 passengers and a crew of 7, crashed during final approach to
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Amsterdam Airport Schiphol , known informally as Schiphol Airport ( nl, Luchthaven Schiphol, ), is the main international airport of the Netherlands. It is located southwest of Amsterdam, in the municipality of Haarlemmermeer in the provinc ...
,
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
. It was determined that a faulty radar altimeter caused the aircraft to throttle the engines back to idle and that the crew subsequently failed to react properly which resulted in an unrecoverable stall and the subsequent crash. Of the 135 people on board, nine people, including the three pilots, were killed. Eighty-six more people were transported to local hospitals. * On 3 March 2015, Turkish Airlines Flight 726 departed the runway on landing at Tribhuvan International Airport,
Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, Nepal. The Airbus A330-300 operating the flight, TC-JOC, was severely damaged when its nose gear collapsed, causing damage to the fuselage and both wings. All 227 passengers and 11 crew members on board escaped uninjured. * On 25 April 2015, Turkish Airlines Flight 1878, an
Airbus A320-200 Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft throughout the world. The company has three divisions: '' ...
TC-JPE was severely damaged in a landing accident at
Istanbul Atatürk Airport ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_ ...
. All on board were successfully evacuated without any injuries reported. * On 16 January 2017, Turkish Airlines Flight 6491, a Boeing 747-412F operated for Turkish Airlines under wet lease from
ACT Airlines Air ACT, legally ''ACT Airlines'' (Turkish: ''ACT Havayollari'') and formerly branded as ''myCargo Airlines'', is a List of airlines of Turkey, Turkish cargo airline based in Kurtköy, Istanbul. It operates international scheduled and charter air ...
, crashed into a residential area upon attempting landing in
Manas International Airport Manas International Airport ( ky, Манас эл аралык аэропорту, Manas El Aralyk Aeroportu ; russian: Международный аэропорт «Манас») is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located north ...
in Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the ea ...
, killing all four crew members and 35 people on the ground. In response, Turkish Airlines released a statement on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
that neither plane nor crew were theirs, calling it an "ACT Airlines accident". However, the flight was still operated under a Turkish Airlines flight number, making it a Turkish Airlines flight under
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is a trade association of the world's airlines founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tarif ...
rules. * On 21 November 2019, Turkish Airlines Flight 467, a Boeing 737-800, suffered a nose gear collapse while attempting to land in heavy crosswinds at Odesa International Airport in Ukraine. All passengers and crew were deplaned using emergency slides without injury.


See also

* List of airlines of Turkey *
Aviation in Turkey Turkey is an emerging aviation hub at the intersection of Europe with emerging markets in the Middle East, the Caucasus and Northern Africa. Airlines In 1983, the Turkish airline market was liberalized. While before, only public companies we ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * * *


External links

*
Skylife

Anadolujet (Regional low-cost carrier of THY)

SunExpress (Joint venture with Lufthansa)



Turkish Aviation Academy Official website
{{authority control Turkish brands Airlines of Turkey Airlines established in 1933 Association of European Airlines members Companies listed on the Istanbul Stock Exchange Companies based in Istanbul Star Alliance Turkish companies established in 1933