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Turkish Airlines boosts capacity on Gatwick-Antalya route
Turkish Airlines has announced it will operate its Gatwick-Antalya service using Airbus A321 aircraft, boosting capacity on the route by 20%.
The change, effective this month, comes in response to demand, says the carrier, from British passengers heading overseas in search of winter sun.
It also fills some of the void left by the collapse of Thomas Cook, which operated a significant number of flights to Antalya.
Celal Baykal, Turkish Airlines’ general manager in London, said: “Antalya has had a fantastic summer, with thousands of Britons jetting off for a chance to enjoy the gateway to Turkey’s picturesque riviera.
“With demand remaining high throughout September and into October, increasing capacity on the route made complete sense, as we are eager to give as many people as possible the chance to widen their world and explore Antalya.”
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It comes after Turkey pledged this week to diversify its tourism offering following the collapse of Thomas Cook, which ran a major package travel operation in the country.
Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, minister for culture and tourism, said the country would switch to a “sustainable and income-driven” tourism model during the period through 2023, which will involve “increasing package tour rates from 15% to 60% by ensuring quality and service amongst suppliers”.
Other objectives include developing new tourism products to attract higher spend, such as focusing on gastronomy, health, shopping, education and sports, as well as faith tourism, festivals and “cruise-yacht tourism”.
It is estimated there were in excess of 20,000 Cook customers in Turkey when Cook collapsed. Ersoy said Turkey’s tourism ministry would work with its treasury to provide a support package for firms affected by the collapse of Cook.
Ersoy added Turkey was seeking to reduce reliance on package holidaymakers by increasing the number of scheduled flights to accommodate package and independent travellers.
James Chapple
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