Turkish Airlines has announced that it will increase the frequency of flights on both its Istanbul-Johannesburg and Istanbul-Cape Town routes, with effect from late October. This will be to meet the elevated demand during the northern winter/southern summer season.

Currently, Turkish operates seven flights a week between Johannesburg and Istanbul and another seven a week between Cape Town and Istanbul, for a total of 14. The airline will introduce three extra flights a week on each route, to take the weekly total to 20. These extra flights will be operated until late March next year. They are expected to boost two-way tourism, business and air cargo between the two countries.

The three extra flights on the Johannesburg-Istanbul route will be coded TK 243 and will be operated on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing Johannesburg at 00:20 and arriving in Istanbul at 11:25. The Istanbul-Johannesburg flights will be coded TK 242 and will be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, leaving Istanbul at 13:30 and reaching Johannesburg at 22:25.

The extra Cape Town-Istanbul flights will carry the code TK 47 and will be flown on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. They will depart at 00:55 and arrive in Istanbul at 13:10. The Istanbul-Cape Town flights will be coded TK 46 and will operate on Mondays, Tuesdays and Saturdays, leaving Istanbul at 13:05 and landing at Cape Town at 23:00.

Passengers from South Africa, apart from visiting Türkiye itself, will be able to use Istanbul as a hub to transfer to other Turkish Airways flights to any of the carrier’s more than 350 other destinations, spread across America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

For those using Istanbul as a transfer hub, Turkish Airlines offers eligible passengers its Touristanbul and Stopover in Istanbul programmes. These allow passengers on extended layovers to visit the city and see its sights. Business class passengers can of course use the airline’s business class lounge at Istanbul Airport, a facility that has won awards.