Turkish Airlines does not have many Boeing 737 MAXs. According to ch-aviation, it has 20 151-seat 737 MAX 8s and five 169-seat 737 MAX 9s. They account for just 6% of the Star Alliance member’s full fleet of 409 aircraft.
Between July and December 2026, Turkish Airlines’ MAXs will be deployed to 83 countries from the carrier’s Istanbul Airport (IST) hub, even if only once. Tanzania will be the top destination nation for flights. The longer stage lengths are particularly in the hands of the 737 MAX 8. Indeed, when all equipment is considered, that variant is the carrier’s leading equipment on flights to Africa.
How Turkish Airlines’ Longest MAX Services Are Measured
Articles that examine route length usually focus on the maximum block or scheduled time, which is the approach here. Turkish Airlines’ nonstop and one-stop MAX flights for July 2026 to December 2026 have been explored using OAG data. Some articles focus only on nonstop services, such as those of British Airways, Air Canada, and Air New Zealand. Others include stopping links, as with the recent analysis of Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, and, indeed, Turkish Airlines’ full passenger operations.
Block time includes taxiing at both ends of a route, along with the flight time and a short period for short delays. Reflecting slot possession, it is measured as chocks-off-to-chocks-on (or stand-to-stand or gate-to-gate). It balances the need for a competitive schedule with high aircraft productivity and high punctuality.
One-stop services, whether triangular or terminator, are utterly critical in the airlines’ vast African network, including those served by MAX equipment. All the top ten entries, as shown in the following section, are one-stop services. The longest nonstop link is timed at up to eight hours and five minutes (IST to Dakar), with many others above seven-and-a-half hours, including flights from the Somali capital of Mogadishu back to IST.
Without one-stop flights, the carrier would serve far fewer places in Africa or, at least, less often, which would reduce its market share and competitiveness. The 151-seat MAX 8 is critical, with the variant being well-known for its decent range. The equipment reduces risk and operating expenses, while the relatively low capacity helps to increase yields.
They include the carrier’s new longest service ever. See all 10 routes here!
All ten routes are summarized below and shown on the subsequent interactive map. Note that some routes change direction depending on the day, with only the longest stage length being included in this article. As is usually the case, many other links were just short of being included.
Timed up to 11 hours and 20 minutes, Lusaka Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (LUN) back to IST via Dar es Salaam Airport (DAR) is Turkish Airlines’ longest MAX operation. OAG shows the MAX 8 will return to this market on October 25, when northern carriers switch to winter schedules based on IATA slot seasons. It’ll be served three times weekly.
The return service, with the longest time, will leave the capital of Zambia at 1:50 AM on October 26 and arrive in the capital of Tanzania at 5:15 AM local time. TK526 will leave at 6:15 AM and get back to IST at 2:10 PM local time. Booking data for the 12 months to April 2026 show that Germany was the top country market for LUN, followed by the UK, US, wider Turkey, and Italy. Influenced by Zambia being a former British colony, London was the most popular city market, although Turkish Airlines was only the seventh-largest indirect operator in this market.
Kilimanjaro International Airport (JRO) back to IST via (ZNZ)
** Known as of June 24, and subject to change
The Tanzanian city of Kilimanjaro is most famous for being the gateway to the country’s world-renowned national parks and adventure tourism. Turkish Airlines has flown there since 2012, initially in conjunction with the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa on the Boeing 737-900ER.
When all equipment and routings are considered, Turkish Airlines will have two to three daily services to JRO between July and December. Some will fly IST-JRO-ZNZ-IST, while others will run IST-ZNZ-JRO-IST. The maximum block time of nine hours and 55 minutes will be available during the northern winter, although nine hours and 50 minutes is much more common.
Let’s consider November 10. On that day, TK566 will leave JRO at 1:15 AM and arrive back in IST, via ZNZ, at 11:05 AM local time. TK565 will be next. It’ll depart from JRO at 3:35 AM and get back to IST, via ZNZ, at 1:30 PM local time. (TK562 will leave at 5:55 AM and operate nonstop to IST.)
As booking data shows that the local IST-JRO market is predictably tiny (under 5,000 round-trip passengers), virtually everyone connects to another flight in IST. Turkish Airlines’ ten most popular cities to/from JRO are Paris, Barcelona, Frankfurt, London, Zurich, Munich, Madrid, Copenhagen, Milan, and New York.
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