The UAE and Türkiye have forged a robust strategic partnership in the tourism and aviation sectors, amid the growing flight and tourist figures between the two friendly nations.
As part of their bilateral relations and strategic partnership, the UAE’s national carriers have increased their flights to Türkiye in recent years, following a rise in air traffic between the two countries.
Reports by the UAE national carriers affirmed the significant contributions of the aviation sector to strengthening the economic relations between the UAE and Türkiye in recent years.
They also stressed that aviation is a crucial lifeline for tourism and business sectors. They highlighted their success in increasing the number of flights to Turkish destinations to meet the growing travel demand. Additionally, they mentioned the addition of seasonal flights during the summer season.
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, announced plans to operate 10 weekly flights from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul. Etihad Airways originally launched services to Istanbul in June 2009. Istanbul is one of the most popular destinations for UAE residents seeking a short break. Istanbul’s location makes it a melting pot of cultures which has seen centuries of influence from both the East and West.
Flights to Istanbul strengthened the growing trade relationship between the two countries.
On 17th January 2021, Etihad Airways resumed passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to Istanbul (AUH-IST). The service operated with an initial twice weekly flight using a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, featuring Business and Economy cabins.
Etihad said it gradually returned more destinations to its global network after a pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emirates Airlines
With 21 weekly flights to Istanbul Airport on Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, as well as two flights in partnership with Flydubai, Emirates Airlines has a strong presence in Türkiye.
Emirates introduced the first scheduled commercial Airbus A380 service to Istanbul from 1st October 2021. Deploying its three-class A380, Emirates offered a total of 517 seats.The Increase in seat capacity contributed to stimulating tourism exchange between the two countries.
Since Emirates started flights to Turkey 34 years ago, it carried six million customers on more than 23,000 flights.
Air Arabia
From the Emirates of Sharjah and Abu Dhabi, Air Arabia operates 50 weekly flights to Türkiye, including seasonal flights. Most of these flights, 45 in total, depart from Sharjah International Airport, while the remaining five depart from Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Air Arabia offers ten weekly flights from Sharjah to Istanbul, seven weekly flights from Sharjah to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, and seasonal flights to Antalya and Trabzon, one and three times per day, respectively. Air Arabia also flies from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport about five times weekly.
Flydubai
flydubai started operating to Turkiye in 2010 with the launch of flights to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW). Today, the Dubai-based carrier has grown its network to five destination in the market including Ankara Airport (ESB), Bodrum Airport (BJV), Trabzon Airport (TZX) as well as Istanbul International Airport (IST).
flydubai plans to ramp up operations for the busy summer travel period, increasing its capacity by 20% across the network. During the peak travel period between June and September 2023, flydubai will operate up to 102 weekly flights between Dubai International (DXB) and the five points it serves in Turkiye enabling more people to travel conveniently over the holiday season. These direct flights to Turkiye are popular for passengers from the UAE as well those connecting from India, KSA and Pakistan and further afield on the combined flydubai and Emirates joint network via the codeshare agreement.
Wizz Air
Starting in early June, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi has commenced its flights to Antalya, operating on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, as part of the current summer season.
In addition to its flights to the Turkish capital, Ankara, which began on 19th January, the airline is committed to providing the region with more convenient, flexible and cost-effective travel services.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
