Pegasus Airlines will start flying between Manchester and Istanbul on 1 July, the company has announced.
Flights between Manchester Airport and Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen will operate five times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, a Pegasus press statement said.
The new flights will take off from Manchester at 12:40pm, arriving in Istanbul at 6.50pm. Planes from Istanbul will depart at 9:30am, landing at Manchester at 11:55am. Online fares for a one-way ticket start from £79.99, Pegasus said, including taxes and charges.
The airline says the new route will connect Manchester with “32 destinations across Turkey and 39 international destinations”, including North Cyprus.
Güliz Öztürk, chief commercial officer at Pegasus Airlines, told T-VINE: “The UK is among our key markets in Europe.
“We already operate thrice daily flights from London Stansted to Istanbul with additional direct flights to Izmir airport up to four times a week in summer…We’re confident that the new Manchester flights will be warmly welcomed by our future guests in Northern England.”
Ms Öztürk said she hoped the new route would provide “our UK guests more choice and flexibility when planning their travels”.
Turkish Airlines now flying between London’s Gatwick Airport & Antalya
Meanwhile Turkish Airlines has commenced direct flights between London’s Gatwick Airport and the Mediterranean resort of Antalya.
The new route, which was launched on Sunday, 31 March, will operate daily until 26 October, a Turkish Airlines statement quoted by Turkish media said.
“With a combination of stunning scenery, excellent weather and world class golf courses to offer, it’s easy to understand why Antalya is such a popular destination for thousands of British holiday makers each year,” Celal Baykal, the carrier’s general manager in London, said.
As well as Gatwick, Turkish Airlines serves four other airports in the UK – London, Heathrow, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester.
It is due to move its operations from Atatürk Airport to the newly built Istanbul Airport this week.
The “Great Move” is expected to be completed by Sunday, 7 April.
