According to reports published in the Turkish media on January 18, 2025, Turkish Airlines, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing international carriers, is eyeing Auckland in New Zealand as well as Minneapolis in the US as the next global cities to receive regular passenger flights from the airline’s iGA Istanbul Airport (IST) hub.
According to a report on the Turkish language website Turizm ekonomi, at a recent Turkish Airlines Management Summit 2025 held in Antalya (Turkey), the airline’s chairman Ahmet Bolat announced the company’s plans to launch services to Minneapolis in April or May of 2025, and later to Auckland on New Zealand’s North Island. The airline started fights between Melbourne and Sydney in Australia and Istanbul (via Singapore) in 2024 and adding New Zealand to its growing list of airports in the region would seem to make a logical next progression of expansion in the South Pacific.
Under a 2010 bilateral air services agreement, New Zealand-based airlines can serve any point in Turkey (via any intermediate point) and beyond to any other point. Turkey-based airlines enjoy reciprocal rights. Despite this, Air New Zealand does not currently operate flights to any airport in Turkey, a point that Turkish Airlines will be keen to exploit. It is understood that all flights would operate visa Singapore initially.
The airline currently uses a mix of Airbus A350-900s, Boeing 777-300ERs, and 787-9s on its antipodean routes. However, it is expected to switch equipment to its new Airbus A350-1000s when the ultra-long-range jets begin to arrive with the carrier later in 2025 allowing for non-stop services. A route to Auckland International Airport (AKL) is likely to be another recipient of the new aircraft allowing the airline to use the type to its full range potential. Istanbul to Auckland has a great circle distance of 10,606 miles (16,970km).
Elsewhere, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport (MSP) is due to become the airline’s newest destination in the United States. The addition of the Northeastern US city would cement Turkish Airlines’ position as the largest carrier operating directly between the US and Turkey. According to the airline’s website, the carrier already operates flights to 15 US cities including Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC, Houston, New York (both JFK and Newark airports), Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Seattle, Denver, and Detroit.
Turkish Airlines has become an impressive force on the global airline stage in recent years with no signs of its rapid expansion abating in 2025. The number of passengers carried by Turkish Airlines reached 83.4 million in 2024, a figure which represented an increase of 2.1% year-on-year. This total included 31.7 million international passengers, up 6.4% over 2023, a rise it largely credits to a major international expansion push throughout 2024 which it intends to continue in 2025.
The airline, which first started commercial passenger operations in 1933, now operates to a staggering 350 destinations across 130 countries worldwide – a figure that features in the Guinness Book of World Records. The airline has a current fleet of 450 aircraft with a further 347 on order. The figure for current aircraft includes an active dedicated freighter fleet of 25 airplanes operated by Turkish Cargo.
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