Turkish Airlines Suspends 18 Routes This Summer: What Visitors to Türkiye Need to Know
Turkish Airlines is gradually pulling out of 18 international destinations across May and June 2026, driven by soaring jet fuel costs following the Strait of Hormuz supply disruption and broader geopolitical pressure across the region. For visitors planning a summer trip to Türkiye, the cuts have practical implications worth understanding before you book or travel.
Which Routes Are Suspended
The 18 suspended destinations are: Aqaba, Billund, Bissau, Ferghana, Freetown, Havana, Hurghada, Juba, Kinshasa, Kirkuk, Leipzig/Halle, Libreville, Luanda, Lusaka, Monrovia, Najaf, Pointe Noire, and Turkistan. The routes span Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and Central Asia — all operating from Istanbul.
Hurghada stands out as the most significant cut: Turkish Airlines has permanently removed all future flights to the Egyptian Red Sea resort with no return date. Other suspended routes are expected to restart from October 2026, with some not returning until March 2027.
What This Means for Travellers to Türkiye
If you have a booking on any of these routes — or are connecting through Istanbul to one of these destinations — check your reservation immediately at turkishairlines.com. Turkish Airlines is offering all affected passengers the choice of a full refund or a free rebooking to an alternative destination.
The scale of the capacity cut is significant: roughly 520,000 seats and more than 100 weekly departures have been removed from Istanbul’s May schedule. When a dominant hub carrier pulls that much capacity, fares on remaining routes can rise as demand concentrates onto fewer options. If you have not yet booked your summer flights into or out of Istanbul, moving quickly is advisable.
The key reassurance for most visitors: the routes into Türkiye itself are unaffected. Turkish Airlines continues to serve Istanbul, Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir, Dalaman, and all other main Turkish airports on their normal summer schedules. Pegasus, AJet, and international low-cost carriers are also maintaining their services.
Planning Your Trip Around the Changes
If your itinerary combines Türkiye with another country — particularly one in Africa or the Middle East — map out the full routing early, as Turkish Airlines’ reduced network may push you toward alternative connecting carriers. Our flights to Türkiye guide covers the main airports, airlines, and practical tips for finding competitive summer fares into the country.
Once you are on the ground, our Istanbul travel guide covers everything from neighbourhoods to transport, and our getting around Türkiye guide explains the best ways to move between cities — whether by domestic flight, bus, or the expanding rail network.
For the vast majority of visitors heading directly to Türkiye, this disruption changes nothing about the holiday itself. The coastal resorts, the cities, and Cappadocia remain as accessible as ever. The disruption is real, but it is narrowly confined to specific outbound routes from Istanbul to other parts of the world.