Turkish Cargo to open route to Austrian industrial city

ANKARA

The Istanbul-based Turkish Cargo, a division of national flag-carrier Turkish Airlines (THY), will launch direct freighter flights to the Austrian industrial city of Linz, the company announced on March 23.

Linz, an attractive location from the viewpoint of the logistics and trading companies, will become the 90th freighter destination of Turkish Cargo across the globe and second in Austria, following Vienna, it said.

The flights, starting on April 2, will be operated twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays.

“The new destination is not only a key city in terms of culture and tourism, but it also shines with its export potential and is called as the industrial region of Austria,” the statement read.

The company flies to more than 300 destinations in 127 countries with the transportation capacity of Turkish Airlines, in addition to its 90 cargo markets.

Turkish Cargo aims to operate flights to 120 direct cargo destinations in 2023, while keeps being the preferred brand in air cargo transportation by achieving sustainable growth with its infrastructure, operational capabilities, fleet and specialized crew and teams.

THY plans to limit its foreign flights with only five cities as of March 27, its chairperson said on March 22.

“All flights to overseas countries will be suspended as of March 27, excluding New York, Washington, Hong Kong, Addis Ababa and Moscow,” THY Board of Directors Chair İlker Aycı said in an interview broadcast live on CNN Türk.

He said that 85 percent of the carrier’s passenger planes were not being used now, after Turkey banned flights from more than 60 countries due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Turkish Airlines was flying to 316 destinations with a fleet of 344 jets as of September 2019, carrying over 70 million passengers annually.