Travel Turkey: Direct Flights from Ankara to 16 Destinations

The President of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO), discussed the issue of direct flights from Ankara during the ATO Assembly Meeting.

During his speech addressed to the members of the Assembly at the April Ordinary Meeting of the Ankara Chamber of Commerce, Gürsel Baran expressed their efforts towards increasing direct flights from the capital to abroad since assuming office. He stated that they had raised the issue with relevant authorities and progress was made with the support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before the pandemic.

Highlighting the importance of direct flights abroad for the development of the capital, Baran emphasized, “Regardless of which area Ankara is developing in, whether it’s trade, exports, or tourism, the issue always comes down to direct flights abroad. As you know well, since the beginning of our tenure, this issue has been among our top priorities. Until 2020, we had gained momentum in direct flights from our city abroad, but the pandemic that started during this process reversed all developments.

It was said that AnadoluJet, a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, would be headquartered in Ankara, but this decision was later reversed. Then, the name of AnadoluJet was changed, creating a new brand called AJet. At this point, while Istanbul Airport operates flights to 280 destinations in 120 countries, Sabiha Gökçen Airport operates flights to 154 destinations in 51 countries, Esenboğa Airport can only reach 41 destinations in 25 countries. While there are 4,000 weekly international flights from Istanbul Airport, only 160 flights are operated from Esenboğa Airport. On the other hand, as a result of the new arrangement, AJet passengers cannot benefit from CIP services and cannot receive in-flight catering.”