Turkish Airlines plans to expand its operations in India with direct flights to Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Amritsar and Bengaluru. It also plans to double its operations in Mumbai and Delhi.
Currently, the airlines is flying directly from Istanbul to Mumbai and New Delhi in addition to code-share flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Amritsar. While there is no clarity on when the deal is likely to materialise, the source added that, “The negotiations between the Ministry and the airlines are on.”
The airlines has a fleet of 33 Boeing 777 aircraft, and three of those are 400 seaterss which are being used for Indian routes. According to a source, “Turkish Airlines currently is flying 14 times a week and it wants to increase the frequency to 70 times a week.” Turkish Airlines declined to comment.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Turkey from India increased by approximately 9 per cent in 2017 to 86,996. In 2018, the number went up to 1,20,897. With over 150 Indian-origin registered companies in Turkey as of 2016, bilateral trade between India and Turkey stood at $6.409 billion. With the New Istanbul international airport in Arnavutköy district, the trade possibilities will see a rise leading to more tourists to Turkey.
“In the past two years, Turkey has become a wedding destination of choice with over 200 weddings,” said Karan Anand, Head-Relationships, Cox & Kings.
