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DALLAS – Turkish Airlines (TK) and Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus (PC) have decided to relinquish their slots at Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV) in Tel Aviv.
Both carriers were required to decide last month whether they intend to keep their TLV slots. Because of the security risks in the region, they were indeed given more time to decide. However, the decision not to retain their slots will make it difficult for these airlines to resume flights to Israel in the future, once these slots have been allocated to other carriers.
The absence of these Turkish carriers will enable Israeli and foreign airlines to take over these slots. Both carriers, therefore, lose an asset that allows them to offer convenient connectivity. For TK, which is the world’s largest airline in terms of the number of destinations served, the price will be the loss of convenient flight times at TLV.
Loss Of Slots By Turkish Carriers
It is common practice in aviation for airlines that use their airport slots to maintain them. However, if an airline does not use its landing and take-off slots, they may be assigned to another airline operating or intending to operate flights at an airport.
TK has been a vital airline operating scheduled flights to TLV. Despite suspending operations to TLV for three months due to the 2023 war outbreak, TK has maintained a strong presence at the airport.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, TK was ranked fourth in activity at TLV airport, with a market share of 4.87%. PC was also significant, ranking twelfth in airport activity at that time. Before the outbreak of war, TK operated more than ten daily flights from its Istanbul (IST) hub to Tel Aviv, with up to sixteen flights daily in peak periods.
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Featured image: Mehmed Bekir Cakmak/Airways
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