Australia’s government has cleared the way for Turkish Airlines (THY) to quickly expand its operations by approving a fivefold rise in the number of weekly frequencies from Türkiye, according to reports from several media outlets.

Transport Minister Catherine King is said to have approved the proposal that will initially see weekly flights between Türkiye and Australia increase from seven to 21, then 28 in 2024 and 35 in 2025.

"This additional demand will stimulate competition and encourage more competitive airfares on international routes," a spokesperson for the minister was quoted as saying.

The jump from the previously approved seven weekly flights to 35 per week by 2025 comes a few months after King blocked a similar bid from Qatar Airways, which was seeking additional landing rights, sparking criticism from the opposition.

Turkish Airlines is expected to launch services in Australia in early 2024.

The frequencies cover service to Australia’s four largest international gateways – Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney and the under-construction Western Sydney International Airport, which is scheduled to open in 2026, the media reports indicated.

In a statement, an infrastructure department spokesperson said the arrangements would "encourage the operation of services between our two countries for the first time."

"Australia and Türkiye share strong cultural, historical and people-to-people links, and aviation plays an important role in supporting these connections," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

"The new arrangements with Türkiye will phase in an increase in available capacity for airlines from both countries over the next two years, including allowing for fifth freedom traffic rights for airlines of both countries."

Turkish Airlines has not officially declared the start of flights to Australia.

However, the company’s chairperson told a Turkish daily earlier this month they planned to launch the flights in March 2024, as they announced the talks with "Barbie" star Margot Robbie as the new face of the ad campaign.

"We will commence flights to Australia between March 15 and 25, 2024. We are currently in discussions with Australian actress Margot Robbie. We plan to bring her to Türkiye a week before the flight and explore various places, including the historic site of Göbeklitepe," THY Chairperson Ahmet Bolat said.

"The Australia flight will involve a layover, a 10-hour stopover in Singapore and then a further seven-hour journey to Australia," he added.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, the company announced it had launched direct flights from Istanbul to Japan’s third-largest city, Osaka. At the same time, it continued to expand its network in the U.S. by starting flights to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) in November.

Last week, Turkish Airlines announced a historic order for 220 new planes from Airbus as it seeks to expand its fleet. In a statement to the Public Disclosure Platform (KAP), the company announced that it would buy 150 narrow-body A321 Neo aircraft in addition to 50 wide-body A350-900 jets, 15 of the A350-1000 planes and five A350F cargo aircraft.

The company’s CEO, Bilal Ekşi, said in a social media statement that the entire order could potentially add up to 355 aircraft.

The deal would be one of the industry’s largest and substantially expand the flag carrier’s existing fleet of 439 jets.