İGA Istanbul Airport Establishes a New Balance Between China and Europe

İGA Istanbul Airport is introducing a new balance in flights from China to Europe. Thanks to partnerships with Chinese airlines, the number of flights is rapidly increasing, further strengthening Istanbul’s role as a global transfer hub.

Signing new agreements that will bring China’s vast passenger potential to Türkiye, İGA Istanbul Airport is reinforcing its strategic position in global air traffic. Currently, four Chinese airlines operate 24 weekly flights from six cities in China to Istanbul. With Hainan Airlines soon to begin operations, the number of flights between Istanbul and China will first rise to 32, and then to 49.

Turkish Airlines (THY) currently operates daily flights to Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. With the start of the winter schedule in November, flights to Beijing and Guangzhou will increase to 10 per week, while Shanghai flights will rise to 11. This will bring THY’s total number of China flights to 31.

Flights from Eight Chinese Cities to Istanbul

İGA Istanbul Airport CEO Selahattin Bilgen stated, following meetings with China’s civil and official aviation authorities:

“We position China as one of our most important target markets. Today, scheduled flights are operated from eight Chinese cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Xian, Urumqi, Taipei and Hong Kong) to Istanbul.”

Bilgen highlighted China’s strategic importance for Türkiye, with its population of 1.5 billion and its potential of sending over 10 million passengers annually to Europe:
“In 2024, the number of Chinese tourists visiting our country was 409,000. Our goal is to increase this to 1 million in the short term and 2 million in the medium term.”

Rapidly Increasing Airline Connections

Bilgen reminded that the number of scheduled airlines at Istanbul Airport, which was 61 when the airport opened, has now reached 116:

“Thanks to our agreements with Chinese airlines, the number of flight rights has increased from 21 to 49. We foresee this capacity being fully utilised within the next two years.”

He added that Air China had committed to increasing its weekly flights from three to seven, and that additional frequencies were promised by other Chinese carriers as well. With this increase, Chinese airlines are expected to operate 33–34 flights per week in the near future.

With connections to 330 destinations across six continents and 130 countries, İGA Istanbul Airport aims to provide Chinese passengers with fast and competitive access to Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.