Follow me on Instagram:   / baseem.io  

Turkish Airlines (Turkish: Türk Hava Yolları) is the national flag carrier airline of Turkey. As of August 2019, it operates scheduled services to 315 destinations in Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, making it the largest mainline carrier in the world by number of passenger destinations.[8][9][10] The airline serves more destinations non-stop from a single airport than any other airline in the world,[11] and flies to 126 countries, more than any other airline.[9][10][5][12] With an operational fleet of 24 cargo aircraft, the airline's cargo division serves 82 destinations.[9][5]

The airline's corporate headquarters are at the Turkish Airlines General Management Building on the grounds of Istanbul Atatürk Airport in Yeşilköy, Bakırköy, Istanbul.[13] Istanbul Airport in Arnavutköy is the airline's main base, and there are secondary hubs at Ankara Esenboğa Airport and İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport. Turkish Airlines has been a member of the Star Alliance network since 1 April 2008.

Turkish Airlines was established on 20 May 1933 as Turkish State Airlines (Turkish: Devlet Hava Yolları)[15] as a department of the Ministry of National Defense.[16] The airline's initial fleet consisted of two five-seat Curtiss Kingbirds, two four-seat Junkers F 13s and one ten-seat Tupolev ANT-9.[16] In 1935, the airline was turned over to the Ministry of Public Works and was subsequently renamed General Directorate of State Airlines. Three years later, in 1938, it became part of the Ministry of Transportation.


Turkish Airlines has been the official carrier of several European football clubs such as Manchester United,[65] FC Barcelona,[66] Borussia Dortmund,[67][68] Olympique de Marseille,[69] Aston Villa,[70] FK Sarajevo,[71] and Hannover 96.


The company has been the primary sponsor of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague since 2010[78] and was among the sponsors of the 2010 FIBA World Championship.[79]

On 22 October 2013, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague signed an agreement to prolong their existing sponsorship deal by five years until 2020.[80]

Turkish Airlines is the sponsor of the Turkish Airlines Open, a European Tour golf tournament played annually in Turkey since 2013.[81]

Turkish Airlines was the kit sponsor of Galatasaray for the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League and Bosnian club FK Sarajevo. Since then, the airline has continued its sponsorship of Galatasaray and has also been the kit sponsor for the European campaigns of other Turkish clubs such as Fenerbahçe and Başakşehir.

On 10 December 2015, Turkish Airlines and UEFA signed a sponsorship deal for the UEFA Euro 2016, becoming the first airline sponsor of UEFA European Championship tournaments.[82][83]

On 29 January 2016, Turkish Airlines announced its partnership with Warner Bros. to sponsor the film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. In the movie, a pivotal scene unfolds aboard a Turkish Airlines A330.[84] That year, the airline also teamed up with a number of Turkish tourist agencies in the production of the romantic comedy film Non-Transferable.[