Istanbul There were serious allegations that threatened to endanger the economic upswing of Turkish Airlines. After reports became public that the state-owned company was knowingly transporting Syrian and Iraqi refugees to Belarus, the EU threatened the airline with sanctions.
This was reflected in the share price: On Friday morning, the shares were almost three percent in the red. By midday, however, they turned positive again after it became known that Turkish Airlines would no longer allow passengers from Syria, Iraq and Yemen to travel to Belarus for the time being, even with valid visas.
Previously, the “Bild” newspaper reported that Turkey was using Turkish Airlines to fly migrants into the country in a targeted manner in order to support the ruler Alexander Lukashenko. The Polish government and the EU accuse Lukashenko of allowing the migrants to be brought into the country in order to then smuggle them into the EU. Often criticized as the “last dictator in Europe”, the President announced that he would no longer stop people on their way to Europe – as a reaction to Western sanctions against Belarus.
The airline had denied such reports. “The news in the media is not true,” said Turkish Airlines on Tuesday. “Our company works with international authorities on flights around the world, taking into account all security sensitivities and carrying out its operations to this extent,” it said.
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The Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu had rejected the reports as unfounded. In a telephone conversation with his Polish colleague Zbigniew Rau on Wednesday evening, Cavusoglu expressed his regret over allegations against Turkey and Turkish Airlines, reported the state news agency Anadolu, citing sources from the Foreign Ministry.
Cavusoglu suggested that a technical team from Poland come to Turkey. In these days there should also be high-level contacts between the EU and Turkey.
Heavy tourism, high vaccination rate: Turkish Airlines is trying to leave the crisis behind
The EU had previously threatened sanctions against airlines transporting migrants to Belarus with the intention of illegally entering the EU. According to an EU official, one-way tickets for flights from Turkey to Minsk are no longer to be sold.
The Belarusian airline Belavia will also no longer be able to use the Turkish Airlines network to fly travelers via Istanbul to Minsk, it said in Brussels. The measures now taken have been agreed by the Turkish authorities with a team led by EU Council President Charles Michel.
According to the current flight schedule, Turkish Airlines flies to Belarus ten times a week. In the summer months there were 14 flights a week. There are currently one or two direct flights a day from Istanbul to Minsk. Belavia also flies to the Belarusian capital from Istanbul up to twice a day.
Turkish Airlines Chairman Ilker Ayci has thus averted a crisis that could have harmed the flourishing business for longer. The company, which he has headed since April 2015, recently carried fewer people than before the pandemic. With a minus of 23 percent in October compared to October 2019, the airline is better off than the competition. In September the minus was 26 percent. For comparison: Lufthansa carried 53 percent fewer passengers in September than in the same period in 2019.
The good development also has to do with the strong late summer in Turkish tourism, and also with the relatively high vaccination rate in the country. According to the Ankara Ministry of Tourism, 3.51 million holidaymakers came to Turkey in September, 60 percent more than in the same period of the previous year.
In addition, 79.7 percent of adults in Turkey received a full vaccination. Turkish Airlines has only allowed fully vaccinated people on board since September – the high vaccination rate helps to maintain and expand flight operations, especially domestically. Turkish Airlines currently flies to 333 destinations in 128 countries.
Turkish Airlines shares are up 42 percent
Ayci also expanded its freight business during the pandemic. In the spring, he also reached an almost noiseless agreement with the employed pilots, who had waived half of their salaries. Meanwhile, the company has increased salaries again by 25 percent.
Ayci’s maneuvers of the past few months have paid off: In the first three quarters, the company generated a net profit of 735 million US dollars despite inflation. Since the beginning of the year, the share price has risen by more than a third to a high of 18.16 lira. Since the beginning of the year, the papers have increased by almost 42 percent.
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