Turkish Airlines launches direct flights to Marrakech
by Daily Sabah
Apr 17, 2019 12:09 am


Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) on Monday launched its inaugural flights to Marrakech, Morocco from Istanbul Airport.

The new destination further reinforced THY's reputation as the airline that flies to the most international destinations. "As the national flag carrier's first inaugural flight from its new home [Istanbul Airport], Marrakech became Turkish Airlines' second destination in Morocco and 308th destination globally," the airline said in a statement.

Having carried out the largest logistics operation in aviation history, relocating all of its operations from its old home, Atatürk Airport, to its new home, Istanbul Airport, on April 6, Turkish Airlines inaugural flight took off Monday for Marrakech, marking the launch of five direct flights a week, namely Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Ahmet Olmuştur, THY assistant general manager in charge of marketing and sales, said: "With Istanbul Airport, a new era has begun in global aviation. Our new operation center offers an important opportunity for Turkish Airlines to develop our globally unparalleled flight network performance even further. Thus, we are working on new strategies to capitalize on this opportunity."

Olmuştur said Marrakech will hold a very special place for the carrier as it is the first destination it has added from its new home.

In the meantime, Turkish Airlines saw its first million passengers pass through at the Istanbul Airport as of Sunday, since its move to the new home.

Established in 1933, THY flies to more than 300 destinations in over 120 countries. In 2018, the company carried 75.2 million passengers with a seat occupancy rate of 82 percent and this year aims to reach 80 million passengers on domestic and international routes.

From 2011 to 2016, the Skytrax world airline survey named THY the best in Europe. Last year, it ranked fourth after Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines. The flag carrier was chosen the Best Airline in Southern Europe for the ninth consecutive time in 2017.