Turkish Airlines to add Malabo to its network by February
Effective February 07, 2020, Turkish Airlines will fly to Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, three times a week along with ongoing Port Harcourt (Nigeria) flights as Istanbul – Port Harcourt – Malabo – Istanbul.
January 06, 2020: Effective February 07, 2020, Turkish Airlines will fly to Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, three times a week along with ongoing Port Harcourt (Nigeria) flights as Istanbul - Port Harcourt - Malabo - Istanbul.
As of December 30, the airline has added Xi'an, the Chinese city to its flight network. Xi'an became the flag carrier's fourth destination in Mainland China and the 318th destination in the world. The flights will be operated three times a week with A330 aircraft.
Starting its flights to China in 1999 with Beijing as the destination, Turkish Airlines reinforced its strong position in Asia with the Xi'an flights. With this new addition, the global carrier's flight network encompassed the entirety of the historical Silk Road that started in Xi'an and ended in Venice.
During the ceremony of the inaugural flight to Xi'an, Turkish Airlines general manager Bilal Eksi stated; "We conclude the year by adding a very special city to our flight network after numerous innovations in various areas and the move to our new home that took place during 2019. We will carry our guests to 126 countries from Xi'an, one of the most significant historical capitals while transferring the historical Silk Road to above clouds with our cargo operations. Our new flights will also contribute to the tourist numbers coming to our country with the increasing attention of Chinese tourists to tourism centers of Turkey."
Turkish Airlines passengers traveling to Xi'an, one of the oldest civilisations of the world, will have the opportunity to explore the numerous cultural heritages along with the historical fabric of the three thousand years old city.
Recently, Turkish Airlines has agreed to a compensation deal with Boeing over the grounding of the B737 MAX following two fatal crashes. It did not specify the size of the payment but Hurriyet reported that it was worth $225 million including $150 million in compensation and $75 million covering things such as spare parts and training.
The B737 MAX has been grounded since March after a Lion Air crash in Indonesia and an Ethiopian Airlines crash killed 346 people within five months, costing the plane manufacturer more than $9 billion so far.
Turkish Airlines had taken delivery of 12 B737 MAX planes before the grounding out of 75 it has ordered. It was supposed to have received 12 more since. Turkish is one of the airlines that have been seeking compensation from Boeing for the financial impact of the grounding.
