BA adds Turkey destination after Thomas Cook collapse

BA announced the launch of a new flight from London's Gatwick Airport to the Turkish resort of Antalya, once among Thomas Cook's most popular routes, as airlines jostle to fill the void left by its collapse. BA, owned by IAG, said on Wednesday the six-per-week service would begin next April, in conjunction with a promotional British Airways Holidays offer. Thomas Cook's British arm entered liquidation after the group's collapse last month. Antalya and Dalaman in Turkey were Thomas Cook Airlines' most popular destinations for UK travellers, according to data from airline database Cirium. A company spokeswoman said that the route announcement had been a long time coming and was unconnected to Thomas Cook's failure. BA already operates a summer flight to Dalaman. Thomas Cook's bankruptcy, which triggered a major repatriation effort aided by BA, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic, has prompted airlines to consider ways to replace its capacity to holiday destinations or bid for its airport slots. Besides BA, operators that were already flying to the two Turkish destinations from London or Manchester before Thomas Cook's collapse include easyJet, Dart Group's Jet2, tour group TUI, Turkish Airlines and its SunExpress joint venture with Lufthansa. Unless Britain crashes out of the EU without a deal, HSBC analyst Andrew Lobbenberg predicted on Wednesday, "easyJet should benefit this winter from the failure of Thomas Cook".<br/>