Turkish Airlines to fly from Istanbul to Melbourne via Singapore from March

Mr Sidney Koh, director for air transport at CAAS, told ST on Jan 20 that Turkish Airlines has since applied for and been granted approval to operate fifth-freedom flights between Singapore and Australia.

In a statement on Jan 19, Turkish Airlines said it would be the only European airline to operate flights to Melbourne Airport.

“In the next few years, Turkish Airlines aims to organise direct flights to Melbourne and other potential cities in (Australia), with the acquisition of new aircraft capable of operating non-stop flights between Istanbul and Melbourne,” it added.

In December, the airline placed an order for 220 Airbus jets, including 15 A350-1000 planes with the range to enable such non-stop connections.

Turkish Airlines will become the sixth carrier to fly between Singapore and Melbourne, joining an already-crowded field that includes Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its budget arm Scoot, as well as Australia’s Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar.

In addition, Emirates has fifth-freedom rights to fly from its Dubai base to Singapore, and onwards to Melbourne.

Aviation analysts had said Turkish Airlines’ plans to fly between Istanbul and Australia via Singapore would increase options for travellers.

The heightened competition on these routes could also bring down fares.

Asked to weigh in on Turkish Airlines’ plans to fly between Singapore and Australia, SIA previously said it has faced competition “from day one”.

At present, SIA operates flights to Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, while Scoot flies to Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

In 2023, the Singapore-Australia market was among the fastest growing for Changi Airport.

It made one of the strongest recoveries after the lifting of Covid-19 travel curbs, with passenger traffic between the two countries reaching 94 per cent of pre-pandemic levels in November.