Turkish Airlines has announced plans to operate 18 weekly flights between Birmingham and Istanbul next summer.

This winter the carrier is maintaining a twice-daily service between the two cities – rather than dropping down to ten flights per week as it has done previously – and the airline said that “forecasts of even greater demand next year” have led it to add a further four weekly flights from June 2024.

Turkish Airlines will operate three flights per day on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with a twice daily service continuing on other days.

Last month Pegasus Airlines announced plan to launch flights between Birmingham and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen International airport from 21 December – Turkish Airlines operates its flights into Istanbul airport.

Pegasus Airlines launching Birmingham-Istanbul service

Commenting on the news Tom Screen, aviation director at Birmingham airport, said:

“The popularity of Turkey as a holiday destination continues to grow and we are seeing this strongly reflected in our customer number forecasts. More and more customers are also stopping in Istanbul before flying onwards to destinations on Turkish Airlines’ vast global network.”

birminghamairport.co.uk, turkishairlines.com