Flying to Turkey

Overview

With a well-established reputation as a tourist destination on one hand and a national airline, Turkish Airlines, among the largest in the world on the other, it's no surprise that air transport is highly developed in Turkey. This includes good coverage of the country with around sixty well-distributed airports, including twenty that handle millions of passengers each year.

As expected, it's Istanbul with its two airports that dominates the majority of traffic: over 130 million people pass through annually out of a total of 250 million welcomed in the country. This is thanks to Istanbul Airport (85 million), Turkish Airlines' global hub, as well as Sabiha Gökçen Airport (48 million), located on the Asian side of the city and specializing in low-cost flights.

Otherwise, the tourist cities of Antalya and Izmir, along with the capital Ankara, have airports with traffic exceeding 10 million passengers.

Local Airlines

Even though the country has around ten airlines flying under its flag, when it comes to air travel in Turkey, one immediately thinks of Turkish Airlines. The national carrier, founded in 1933, is now one of the undisputed giants of global civil aviation, serving the most destinations and countries directly in the world—over 350 airports in 132 countries. This is thanks to a fleet of nearly 550 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, a highly efficient hub at Istanbul Airport, which aims to become the world's busiest in terms of traffic, and a service now widely recognized, regularly ranking the airline among the best on the planet. It also has two subsidiaries: a low-cost airline, Ajet, and a charter and holiday flight specialist called SunExpress. In short, the best of the best and undoubtedly an airline you can consider for almost any occasion.

Naturally, after that, it's easy to forget there are other carriers in Turkey. Even so, Pegasus Airlines, the country's main low-cost airline with 150 destinations and its base at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, or Corendon Airlines, which offers holiday flights from France and many other European countries, and even Freebird Airlines, which is quite similar, all try to play their part in Turkish air transport, despite being overshadowed by the national carrier.

From France and Europe

Logically, Europe remains by far the continent offering the most flights to and from Turkey. Turkish Airlines alone already serves 125 cities there. Add to that a plethora of national airlines, low-cost carriers, and even charter flights from nearly all European countries. In short, plenty of choice and direct flights from almost everywhere.

As for France in particular, around fifteen French airports benefit from regular and seasonal connections, taking three to four hours non-stop to Istanbul, as well as to a lesser extent Izmir, Ankara, or Antalya. This is again thanks to a range of carriers, including Turkish Airlines (of course), Air France, Transavia, and Turkish airlines like Pegasus Airlines or Corendon. There’s enough variety to find what you need and avoid connecting flights, especially since the destination remains affordable in terms of price, with offers starting from around 150 € (low season), around 250–300 € (mid-season), and 400–500 € in July–August. Still reasonable...

From Elsewhere

It’s simple: since Turkish Airlines has the world’s largest network, with over 350 cities served directly in 132 countries across five continents from Istanbul, there are only a handful of places in the world not connected to Turkey. Moreover, beyond the national Turkish carrier, many foreign airlines have included the country in their networks. So, no problem at all.

Additional Information