Emirates SkyCargo, Turkish Airlines increase Dubai-Istanbul frenquency

Turkish Airlines has launched daily flights to Dubai from Sabiha Gokcen International Airport in Istanbul.

On December 25, the airline will start flying from Istanbul’s second international airport to Dubai.

Turkish Airlines currently flies 14 weekly flights to Dubai from its hub at Istanbul Ataturk Airport. The inclusion of seven additional flights per week from and to Sabiha Gokcen which is the Asian side of Istanbul, will increase its capacity on routes to Dubai by nearly 50%.

From March 2016, the airline will increase its weekly flights to 10 per week between Dubai and Sabiha Gokcen, further increasing frequencies and capacity on this route.

Emre Ismailoglu, General Manager, Dubai and Northern Emirates, Turkish Airlines, said the Dubai market, and the UAE in general, continues to generate strong sales.

Until the third quarter of 2015, passengers carried from the UAE increased by 2.2%, to approximately 320,000. Business/Comfort Class passengers increased by 6.3% for the same period whilst Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) increased by 3.2% as compared to the same period in 2014.

Emirates SkyCargo increases operations in Istanbul

Emirates SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates, will expand its presence in Turkey when it begins daily, non-stop service to Sabiha Gökçen International Airport on 15 December 2015, increasing cargo capacity to and from the country by an additional 168 tonnes per week.

The flight, which will be operated by an A330-200 aircraft with 24 tonnes of cargo capacity, will be the only daily wide-body passenger aircraft with bellyhold capacity to serve Sabiha Gökçen. Flight EK119 will depart Dubai at 17:15hrs and arrive at Sabiha Gökçen at 20:15hrs the same day. The return flight, EK120 will depart Sabiha Gökçen at 22:05hrs and will arrive in Dubai the following day at 4:20hrs.

“Our cargo customers are increasingly looking for ways to ship their goods across the world at a faster pace. The introduction of service to Sabiha Gökçen not only provides an additional gateway for our customers in Turkey, but it also provides quicker access to shipping lanes for businesses located in eastern Istanbul,” said Nabil Sultan, Emirates Divisional Senior Vice President, Cargo.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport is located 60 kilometres east of Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, where Emirates SkyCargo already offers 11 weekly flights on Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The new flights to Sabiha Gökçen will save businesses in eastern Istanbul at least an hour’s journey by truck, as it will reduce the need for cargo to be trucked across congested city streets to be shipped via Atatürk Airport.

Each year, Emirates SkyCargo ships more than 5,300 tonnes of cargo in and out of Istanbul. Top imports include medicines, vaccinations, carpets and textiles. The airline began flying to Turkey’s largest city in 1987, making it one of the longest-running routes in Emirates SkyCargo’s network.

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