Turkish Airlines  has started flights between Sulaimaniya and İstanbul as of Monday. In remarks to the press on the maiden flight from İstanbul to Sulaimaniya, THY’s marketing and sales president, M. Akif Konar, reminded journalists that his company started service to Najaf two weeks ago, increasing the number of destinations in Iraq to five with the opening of the Sulaimaniya route.We are striving to make THY the best airline in the Middle East just like we managed to become the best airline in Europe, Konar stated.Sulaimaniya is one of Iraq’s most important gateways to Europe, and we as THY have fulfilled our duty to add the city to our list of destinations. With the Sulaimaniya route, THY’s weekly flights to Iraq have reached 24.

With 42 domestic locations and 144 international, THY has the world’s eighth biggest flight network.In a poll where over 18.8 million airline passengers from 100 countries had cast votes, THY was awarded the Best Airline Europe prize by Skytrax, the world’s largest airline review site, which recognized the quality of THY’s in-cabin service and the range of locations THY flies to. THY also won the World’s Best Premium Economy Class Airline Seat and the Best Airline Southern Europe awards. Besides Sulaimaniya, THY has flights to the capital Baghdad, Arbil, Basra and Najaf.

There will be four flights between İstanbul and Sulaimaniya per week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Planes will depart from İstanbul at 11:15 p.m. The İstanbul-bound flights from Sulaimaniya will depart at 3:10 a.m. on the same days. The prices for a return ticket will be around $ 440, Konar said.