Turkish Airlines has confirmed it plans to launch flights to the Australian city of Melbourne, via a one line “route announcement” on the Investor Relations section of its website.
The carrier has been talking up the launch of flights to Australia for some months, with chairman of the board and executive committee recently briefing local media on plans to commence flights in 2024.
In an announcement published on 29 December, 2023, the airline said that “Our Incorporation decided to start operating scheduled flights, based on market conditions, to Melbourne in Australia”.
No further details were published, although it is understood Turkish Airlines will operate Istanbul-Melbourne route via Singapore.
The Australian government recently granted the carrier permission to operate up to 21 weekly flights to the country, up from the previously-approved seven flights per week. This limit will rise to 28 flights per week from mid-2024, and to 35 from mid-2025.
Both Melbourne and Sydney were listed as future destinations at the airline’s Roadshow event last year, alongside flights to cities including Glasgow, Newcastle, Detroit, Denver and Rio de Janeiro.
A thrice weekly service to Detroit subsequently launched in November 2023, increasing to four flights per week in December.
