Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 at Dublin International Airport
On the 23rd of April, Turkish Airlines drew their flag in the sky using a Boeing 777 for the 100th anniversary since the National Assembly of Turkey was formed. This day is a national holiday in Turkey that celebrates the National Sovereignty in Turkey and also children worldwide. Usually there would be parades and parties to celebrate this day but due to the current circumstances, everyone is in quarantine. The airline decided to do something special to try enlighten the mood.
Flight TK1920 took off from Ankara International Airport at 9:39 local time and after around two and a half hours in the air, they landed back in Ankara at 12:17. The aircraft is registered TC-JJF and stayed at 14,000ft when drawing their flag. They took strict safety measures when conducting this flight such as making sure the plane was empty and wearing masks and gloves. This operation took weeks to plan to make sure they got their flag drawn perfectly!
The airline haven't been the only ones drawing pictures in the sky recently. Icelandair also drew a heart in the sky to support those working and suffering from the coronavirus pandemic. Check out more information on this operation here.
Turkish Airlines have decided to only operate cargo and repatriation flights. Many airlines at the moment are transforming their aircraft into temporary cargo planes by removing the seats or modifying their interior. In Turkey currently, they have been suffering from a great outbreak of cases of Coronavirus. They have locked down the entire country with a ban on all international travel. Nearly all of Turkish Airlines' scheduled flights have been cancelled. However, the airline has began a massive repatriation effort. We are currently nearing the holy month of Ramadan. The airline has taken this as a 'national responsibility' to get those stranded abroad due to this lockdown home to their family during this religious month. 'Thousands of citizens who went abroad as tourists, students, or temporary workers will be able to join their families by the holy month of Ramadan,”the company said in a statement Monday.
There will be 195 repatriation flights to 59 different countries to get 25,000 people back to Turkey. This is an operation that will be happening over 9 days. They will be deploying 110 of their 311 aircraft to carry out this process. The largest gathering of people are in Germany, Saudi Arabia, the US and the UK with 3269, 2201, 1631 and 1559 people returning to Turkey respectively.
The airline originally suspended their international flights to the 17th of April. However, following the national directive's restrictions from the Turkish Authority, they have extended it until the 20th of May. All their domestic flights have been suspended until the 1st of May. This is in the best interest for the country's health.
With the airline in almost a complete standstill and their employees are furloughed there has become a financial strain on many airlines. However, with 50% of Turkish Airline's belonging to the government, it is very likely that they will come out the other side of this pandemic strong and ready to go again.
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