Minister of Transport Uraloğlu shared the details of the ceiling fee policy implemented in air transportation since August. The Minister stated that at the meeting, the ceiling price of 2 thousand 500 liras determined for 80 percent of a flight ticket was maintained, and the ceiling fee of 4 thousand liras continued to be applied for the remaining 20 percent.
ISTANBUL (AA) – Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “We would like to share the good news that 12 new domestic flights will start by SunExpress Airlines as of the end of October in the next winter period.” he said.
Minister Uraloğlu met with senior managers of Turkish Airlines (THY), AJet, Pegasus and SunExpress Airlines at the Turkish Civil Aviation Academy.
Making a statement after the meeting, Uraloğlu stated that they met with the senior managers of the airlines in question, which are carriers operating on domestic routes, and noted that they discussed the general situation of Turkish civil aviation in domestic and international routes and future predictions at the meeting.
Uraloğlu stated that they discussed, one by one, the points where there is a lack of flights in the country and how they can eliminate these deficiencies, especially by focusing on the issue of domestic flights. As you know, airline companies are commercial organizations operating under free market conditions. Therefore, under normal circumstances, starting flights on a line, increasing the number of flights, and making ticket discounts or campaigns are at the operators’ own initiative..” he said.
Minister Uraloğlu said that, as the Ministry, they hold regular consultations with airline companies, as they do today, and convey the evaluations regarding the regions where demand is high in the country, and together they ensure that the necessary plans are made.
Stating that they frequently encounter requests from citizens to increase the number of flights, especially during the summer periods, due to the number of flights and density, Uraloğlu said:
“I personally listen to the demands of our citizens firsthand during my visits to the field and try to meet these demands to the most reasonable extent possible. Because we show special sensitivity to ensure that the number of flights to every point in Turkey is balanced, effective and efficient. Today, in the light of concrete data, we examined and evaluated which routes our airline operators should increase their flights and adjust their flight hours. “We evaluated the requests from our citizens, non-governmental organizations and business world.”
– “58 airports are still in service in our country”
Minister Uraloğlu stated that 14 licensed airlines operate in Turkey and 4 of them operate domestic passenger flights. “The airline companies in our country have a fleet of 139 thousand 103 passengers with 670 passenger aircraft. Today, we carry an average of 200 passengers per plane.Of course, it has not been easy these days.” he said.
On May 20, 1933,Explaining that the first fleet of 4 aircraft started operating under the name of Turkish Air Mail with the decision of the State Airlines Administration affiliated with the Ministry of National Defense to start service, Uraloğlu stated that Turkish Air Mail, which started to spread its wings by making its first flight in 1933, has now taken almost the whole world under its wings under the name of THY.
Stating that the first commercial airport was in the area known today as Güvercinlik in Ankara, Uraloğlu said, “We can say that there was nothing but a few tents as a terminal. But today, lastly, with Çukurova International Airport, which we opened on August 10th. 58 airports are still in service in our country.Our Istanbul Airport, which we opened in 2018, continues to maintain its first place for years as the busiest airport in Europe.” he said.
Uraloğlu stated that since there is no published data between 1933 and 1938, when the first commercial flight started, they cannot know the number of passengers in this period, and said, “But according to the first statistics shared by the State Institute of Statistics in 1939, we learn that 399 passengers traveled by air in 1939. “We can say that under today’s conditions, it is not even the capacity of 2 aircraft. After 1985, the number of international passengers exceeds the number of domestic passengers, and we observe that the increase in the number of international passengers after 1990 reached striking levels.” he said.
Stating that while approximately 8 million 730 thousand passengers traveled on domestic lines in 2002, the number of passengers on international lines exceeded 25 million, Uraloğlu continued his words as follows:
“So, we can say that we had approximately 34 million passengers traveling on domestic and international lines in 2002. We see that the number of our airline passengers has increased regularly in parallel with the development of our aviation industry, from 2002 until 2020, when we experienced the effects of the Covid-19 epidemic. Of course, naturally, there is a decrease in these years due to the effect of the epidemic. However, on the centenary of our Republic, We have broken an all-time record by carrying more than 214 million passengers in 2023.
Again, the number of flights, including transit overpasses, in Turkish airspace in 2023 increased by 14.9 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 2 million 167 thousand 19. Thus, in 2023, approximately One plane passes every 15 secondshappened. We will reach values much higher than these statistics this year and in the coming periods. Our passenger number will be over 236 million by the end of this year and over 250 million in 2025.We foresee. “I think one of the most striking examples of the phrase ‘From where to where’, which our President frequently utters, is our increasing number of passengers in parallel with the development in our airline industry.”
– “By the end of this year, we will have increased the number of our international flight destinations to 349.”
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Uraloğlu said that parallel to these increases, there will be increases in the number of flights on both domestic and international lines and in the flights to these points.
Stating that currently, an average of 7 thousand mutual flights are carried out weekly by carriers on domestic lines and an average of 20 thousand flights on international lines, Uraloğlu said:
“At this point, as the Ministry, we continue to provide the necessary support in domestic lines, just as we help airline companies increase their flights on international lines. For example, as a result of our long-term negotiations, we will start flights to Santiago, the capital of Chile, with THY on the Istanbul-Sao Paolo-Santiago line, with 4 frequencies per week, as of December 18th. Thus, THY will be operating flights to Chile for the first time. On the other hand, THY will start flights on the Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur-Sydney line as of December 4. Following the flights to Melbourne, which started this year, Sydney will be the second new destination we will open on the Australian continent. Thus, by the end of this year, we will have increased the number of our international flight destinations to 349.”
– “Businesses will start feasibility studies as soon as possible on the lines with priority needs for the 2025 summer season.”
Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that a new plan was also discussed to have at least one flight every day, morning and evening, between cities with a travel time of at least 5 hours or more by road or train on domestic lines, and on lines with an average occupancy of over 95 percent in the previous season.
Stating that the companies will start feasibility studies as soon as possible and increase the number of flights on the lines with priority needs for the 2025 summer season, Uraloğlu stated that, as the Ministry, they will follow up whether the airline companies have increased the number of flights in line with their plans.
Uraloğlu gave information that the average occupancy rate of carriers in Turkey for domestic flights in the 2024 summer period is around 85-90 percent, and said that this level may drop to 80-85 percent in the winter period due to the decrease in mobility.
Minister Uraloğlu used the following statements:
“As a result of the evaluation we made in our meeting, we would like to share here the good news that 12 new domestic flights will start by SunExpress Airlines as of the end of October in the next winter period, as a result of the work we have already initiated. Rize-Artvin Airport-Antalya, Antalya-Bursa, Antalya-Erzurum, Antalya-Şanlıurfa, İzmir-Elazığ, İzmir-Nevşehir, İzmir-Sivas, İzmir-Şanlıurfa, Çukurova-Bursa, Çukurova-Samsun, Çukurova-Trabzon and Çukurova-Van We are starting our flights. With these flights, we will expand the domestic flight network of the newly opened Çukurova International Airport. At the same time, Izmir and Antalya, which are highly requested by our citizens especially during the summer period, are in Anatolia; “We will connect it to the cities of Bursa, Erzurum, Sivas, Nevşehir, Elazığ and Şanlıurfa and hopefully increase the number of flights on some lines.”
– “We will also provide our citizens with information about new domestic flights that will be opened and flights that will increase as soon as possible.”
Minister Uraloğlu noted that they also discussed the status of the urgently requested flights at the meeting, and said that they evaluated the domestic flights on a line-by-line basis, especially in the provinces where there is only one flight a day based in Istanbul and Ankara or where there are no flights every day of the week.
Stating that they believe that similar flights will increase rapidly on domestic lines in the future, Uraloğlu said, “Our airline companies will complete their feasibility studies as soon as possible and inform our Ministry at which points and how many flights they will increase their domestic flights. After this study, if necessary, we will meet with businesses once again and reveal our road map more clearly. “In this way, we will offer our citizens a more accessible and accessible air transportation.” he said.
“The ceiling price will continue to be 2,500 lira for 80 percent of tickets, and 4,000 lira for the remaining 20 percent if these tickets are sold.”
Noting that one of the important agenda items of the meeting was the ceiling fee application in air transportation, Uraloğlu said that since August, the ceiling for 80 percent of the tickets on a flight is 2 thousand 500 liras, and in case these tickets are sold, the ceiling for the remaining 20 percent is 4 thousand liras. He said that the price application continues.
Uraloğlu stated that at the meeting, businesses were once again reminded of the issue of strict compliance with the ceiling price application and said:
“I think that the meeting we held was productive and beneficial for the development of all our airline companies and the aviation industry. And I wholeheartedly believe that we will provide our citizens with information about new domestic flights that will be opened and flights will increase as soon as possible.”
