Turkish Airlines launches major Middle East initiative

Turkish Airlines, already a substantial player in the Middle East market, is launching a new wave of routes into the region. For some time, the Turkish flag carrier has had ambitions to rival the “Middle East 3” (ME3) trio of Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways. Turkish is expanding rapidly, notably in Africa, where the Istanbul-based carrier is on record as saying it aims to become the dominant airline on the continent. The latest initiative is designed to link Middle East cities with several Turkish regional cities and tourism centers such as Antalya, Bodrum and Trabzon; Turkey is a popular holiday destination for Arabs. The services are scheduled to start from June. The new routes will also allow Arab passengers to bypass the increasingly congested Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul. Turkey is also attempting to compensate for a sharp drop-off in Western European tourists following a series of terrorist attacks and last summer’s attempted coup in the country.<br/>