Turkish Airlines is the world’s 13th-largest carrier by flights. When only international services are considered, it rises to fourth. The Star Alliance member is known for its extensive network. Between September and December, its passenger jets will fly to 285 destinations on a scheduled basis, which are in 124 countries. Of course, it’d be more significant still if its freight services were included.
In September, three more cities joined Turkish Airlines’ network from its Istanbul Airport hub: Misrata, Seville, and Port Sudan. In October, it will return to Mombasa and Yanbu. In December, the carrier will begin its first passenger flight to Phnom Penh (via Bangkok). While outside the scope of this article’s focus, it is already known that it will fly to Bissau and London Gatwick in 2026, with more places coming.
Turkish Airlines Began Flying To These 3 Cities In September
The carrier returned to Misrata on September 2. While flights previously operated daily on the Boeing 737-800/900, they now run three times weekly on the same equipment. The relaunch came nearly 1.5 years after Mitiga (which serves the country’s capital, Tripoli) joined its network in April 2024, and nine months after the return of Benghazi, in January 2025.
On September 17, Turkish Airlines took off for Seville, which is Spain’s fourth most populous metro area and an important tourist destination. It has become its sixth passenger destination in the country. The year-round service runs daily on the 737 MAX 8. To accommodate the press, dignitaries, etc., the first round-trip flight used the 777-300ER (as shown above). To maximize global connectivity, a split schedule is available.
Port Sudan joined its map on September 17 (the photo below is from this launch). Narrowbodies are critical to many of the airline’s African routes, and this new link to the Red Sea city is no exception. 737-800/900 flights are nonstop in both directions and operate three times weekly. They currently leave Istanbul at 02:35 and get back at 11:35.
Turkish Airlines’ Network From Istanbul Airport: September To December
It is worth briefly recapping the various countries that have joined or rejoined Turkish Airlines’ map recently. These nations did so in 2024: Afghanistan (last served in 2021), Australia (new), Chile (new), and Libya (last served in 2015). These countries did so or will do so in 2025: Cambodia (new), Sudan (last served in 2023), and Syria (last served in 2012). Since 2023, and for obvious reasons, only Israel has stopped seeing the airline.
Turkish Airlines has passenger flights to 85 European airports. They are vital for its wider network and connectivity, including to Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East, without which that part of its business would be significantly smaller. Partly because of the large Turkish diaspora in Germany, that country has more flights than anywhere else (except domestically).
Turkish Airlines Serves 54 Airports In Africa
The carrier’s presence on the continent is enormous. In the final part of the year, its passenger aircraft will be seen in 54 airports—more than anywhere else except Europe. Vital to this is its considerable use of narrowbodies—they operate three in four of its African flights—and, like many carriers, multiple one-stop routings.
In the 12 months to July 2025, booking data shows that more than 12,000 daily passengers connected to another flight in Istanbul en route to or from Africa. Given its global network, over 800 airport pairs had at least three passengers daily; the cumulative effect of hubs is clear.
The 15 most popular city-level markets were Guangzhou-Algiers; funnily enough, Air Algérie will begin nonstop flights in October. Dubai-Algiers was next, followed by London-Lagos, Los Angeles-Cairo, Algiers-Antalya, London-Accra, Dubai-Bamako, Algiers-Sharm El Sheikh, Nouakchott-Medinah, Kayseri-Cairo, Amsterdam-Cairo, London-Mogadishu, Paris-Bamako, London-Abuja, and Algiers-Jeddah.