Transport minister quietly triples Turkish Airlines’ air rights

Transport Minister Catherine King has quietly signed off on a fivefold increase in flights to Turkey, including a threefold rise with immediate effect, despite denying a request from Qatar Airways to double its services, which she had described as an “unprecedented” expansion.

In a pre-Christmas decision concluded in Saudi Arabia last week, the federal government gave Turkish Airlines the right to fly 21 flights per week to Australia with immediate effect. That will increase to 28 next year and 35 by 2025, overtaking Qatar which has 28 flights a week to major airports.