Turkish Airlines, which flies to more countries than any other carrier in the world, is coming back, and it is coming back strong. In January 2021, Turkish Airlines will be flying to 208 destinations worldwide. While changes are likely, given the incredible uncertainty about the pandemic, the carrier plans to fly to as many destinations as possible to serve as many customers as possible.
Turkish Airlines flying to over 200 destinations
Since resuming international operations in June, Turkish Airlines has been working to rebuild its global route network. Through January 31st, Turkish Airlines will be flying to 208 destinations across the world. This is up slightly from the 204 destinations it served come October. Touching every inhabited continent, minus Oceania, the airline is once again building back its status of flying to more countries than any other carrier in the world.
All of these destinations are served from the airline’s hub in Istanbul Airport (IST). The strongest areas in the airline’s route network are Europe and Africa. Domestically, Turkish is also running a robust schedule. You can see the full list of destinations here.
There are some notable exceptions. The airline has suspended flights to South Africa through January 31st. And, in mainland China, Turkish is only flying once a week to Guangzhou. The carrier also is not flying to any cities in India.
Short-term route planning
The ongoing crisis has forced Turkish Airlines to manage its route map in the short-term. The recent mutated strain found in countries like the UK and South Africa led governments to institute new entry restrictions, requiring intense short-term management from the airline. With already low demand, the airline has to determine whether it will continue to run flights to certain destinations.
Over the coming months, Turkish Airlines’ route network will likely undergo a few changes. Mostly dealing with entry restrictions in various locations, once those lift, expect the airline to resume flights to some of its top destinations.
This planning has also led Turkish Airlines to delay the launch of new routes, such as flights to Newark (EWR) in the United States.
Not a robust schedule
While the airline is serving plenty of destinations, frequencies have been reduced across the board. Many of these destinations are only served a few times per week, though some are served daily or more.
Compared to December, Turkish Airlines has increased frequencies to certain destinations. In other cases, the number of flights per week has remained stagnant. In a few cases, the number of flights per week has been reduced between certain destinations.
As the vaccine rolls out and countries start to offer guidance on reopening their borders and resuming leisure tourism, expect Turkish Airlines to be one of the first carriers to be back up and running to a full flight schedule. In less than a year, the airline has already rebuilt most of its route network.
Have you flown Turkish Airlines recently? Are you glad to see the airline serve 208 destinations worldwide? Let us know in the comments!
