Turkish Airlines has confirmed plans to launch a new one-stop service to Sydney, marking the carrier’s second destination in Australia after Melbourne.
Beginning Dec. 4, the Star Alliance member will offer four flights per week between Istanbul Airport and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD), with a fuel stop in Kuala Lumpur. The service will be operated using Airbus A350-900 aircraft.
Chairman Ahmet Bolat says Sydney will also become Turkish Airlines’ first nonstop destination in Australia once the airline has aircraft capable of making the journey in a single leg, which is expected in 2026. The route would likely use either A350-1000 or Boeing 777X aircraft.
Turkish Airlines commenced passenger flights to Australia in March, opening a one-stop route to Melbourne Airport via Singapore. Bolat told Aviation Week in July that the airline was evaluating whether to take this 3X-weekly service to daily, or whether to start flights to Sydney.
The new route to Sydney is being supported by the New South Wales (NSW) government’s Aviation Attraction Fund, set up during the pandemic to support the growth of capacity and the development of new international services. The government expects Turkish Airlines’ entry to the market to generate about A$53 million ($35 million) annually for the state’s visitor economy.
“This announcement of direct flights marks a significant milestone for travel to Europe, offering passengers seamless access to hundreds of destinations from Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul hub,” SYD CEO Scott Charlton says. “With more than 15,000 Turkish-born Australians in NSW and Turkey consistently rated as one of the top destinations for Australian travelers, we’re confident this service will be strongly supported.”
O&D traffic between Sydney and Europe totaled more than 1.7 million two-way passengers in 2023, according to Sabre Market Intelligence data, with Sydney-London the biggest city pair.
The planned launch of the Sydney route comes days after Turkish Airlines confirmed that it will commence its inaugural passenger flights to Chile in December, the eighth country in the Latin America region served by the carrier. Flights to Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport will be 4X-weekly using A350-900s, operating via São Paulo, Brazil.
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