Turkish Airlines halted Israel operations with the outbreak of the war in October 2023. Even so the airline has decided to save its flight slots at Ben-Gurion Airport. In the aviation industry, slots — reserved times for takeoffs and landings at airports — are an expensive and valuable resource — and one of an airline’s most important assets. Keeping slots will allow Turkish Airlines the right to operate at Ben-Gurion Airport.
However, if the airline does not use the slots this summer, it will risk losing them.
Foreign airlines retain slots, which is not unusual. Many airlines that have suspended operations in Israel have chosen to save their slots, but Turkish Airlines' predicament is slightly different. As a government company, its decisions are influenced by the considerations of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Therefore, Turkish Airlines is likely to refrain from using its slots for political reasons. Since the start of the war, the airline has suspended its operations at Ben-Gurion Airport as part of a policy of support for Hamas, and there is no real prospect of resumption.
In 2023, Turkish Airlines was the fourth biggest carrier at Ben-Gurion Airport.
Missing pieces
The absence of Turkish Airlines is deeply felt at Ben-Gurion Airport. According to data from the Israel Airports Authority, in the summer of 2023, the airline was one of the biggest carriers in Israel. Prior to October 7, 2023, Turkish Airlines operated over 10 daily flights between Tel Aviv and Istanbul.
In July-August 2023, over 5% of passengers on flights in and out of Ben Gurion airport used Turkish Airlines, making it the fourth-biggest carrier operating flights to Tel Aviv.
Aviation industry sources believe that in March, Turkish Airlines will be required to decide if it plans to resume Israel operations and, if so, on what scale. Estimates are that even if it does resume flights to Tel Aviv, the number of flights will be cut to one-third of its previous flights, far from the scale of operations before the war. Retaining its flight slots so far demonstrates that Turkish Airlines is still keeping its options open , but whether it will ever use the slots remains unclear.