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Turkish Airlines flies to more countries than any other carrier, but it does not serve the most airports. Given that it has now suspended flights to 23 destinations, its distance from the pole position is further than normal. For now, the cessations are mainly temporary, with some markets ending in May or June. They primarily relate to the cost and supply of jet fuel because of the war in Iran.
The 23 destinations fall into two categories. First, mandatory suspensions. This involves five cities in Iran, as Turkish Airlines, like all other operators, cannot fly there now as the airspace remains closed. Second, optional pauses, with 18 international cities in this category, all of which are to less-trafficked places.
Turkish Airlines Has Paused Flights To Ten African Cities
The 
Star Alliance member has pulled all services to Bissau, Freetown, Hurghada, Juba, Kinshasa, Libreville, Luanda, Lusaka, Monrovia, and Pointe Noire. Analysis of Cirium Diio data shows that nearly a fifth of 
Turkish Airlines’ African passenger network has been removed.
Turkish Airlines’ schedule submission shows that these cities are due to see the carrier again in October or in March 2027 at the earliest. This reflects what is known as of April 28, 2026, with further changes inevitable. The exception is the Egyptian tourist destination of Hurghada, with all future flights removed. Having flown there since 2012, the final service is slated for June.
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Nine of the ten cities are located in sub-Saharan Africa. Most were served on a one-stop, so-called terminator or triangular basis. Reducing operating expenses and risk, this is a common way for Turkish Airlines to serve so many cities across the vast continent of Africa. The elimination of these markets means that the places they were tagged with might now be temporarily flown either on a terminator basis (potentially with a reduced frequency and thus lower competitiveness but a lower fuel bill) or tagged with another city.
Ten Cities In Asia And The Middle East Are Also Suspended
While the Middle East is geographically part of Asia, it is usually considered a separate region in aviation. Half of the ten cities are in Iran: Esfahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz, and Tehran. The war means that the airline cannot fly there now even if it wanted to.
In normal times, Iran is Turkish Airlines’ 11th most-served international country by flights. It plays an important role in its overall network. This especially relates to Tehran, with up to six daily flights.
While the carrier’s schedule continues to show flights to the Iranian capital will resume in June, this is exceedingly unlikely to happen. As with most places mentioned in this article, it is likely to be just a placeholder schedule that is easily movable. The four other cities in Iran are due to see the airline again in October, which is more realistic but could still be pushed back.
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Turkish Airlines has also suspended flights to Aqaba, Ferghana, Kirkuk, Najaf, and Turkistan. Two of these cities are relatively new additions to the carrier’s network: it has flown to Kirkuk (Iraq) since 2021 and Turkistan (Kazakhstan) since 2022. For a while, Aqaba (which is in Jordan but right next to the border with Israel and close to Saudi Arabia) has been tagged with Amman, with flights routing Istanbul-Amman-Aqaba-Istanbul. For now, most of the five destinations are due to see the airline again in March next year.
Then There’s Europe And Latin America
The final three cities are Billund, Havana, and Leipzig. Yes, the price and availability of jet fuel are the primary factors in the suspension of flights. It has been reported that some airlines flying to Cuba have had to stop to refuel en route. But like most places mentioned in this article, all of them are pretty small markets for Turkish Airlines, which surely cannot be a coincidence. It is likely that their underlying performance is insufficient to withstand the higher fuel price.
Flights to all three cities will resume in October or March. Let’s consider the Cuban capital, Havana. The carrier has flown there since December 2016, with many flights continuing to Caracas. The route was fully de-tagged in January 2026.
|
Days |
Istanbul To Havana; Local Times* |
Havana To Istanbul; Local Times** |
|---|---|---|
|
Wednesdays, Fridays, Sundays |
3:35 PM-9:45 PM |
11:30 PM-6:10 PM+1 |
|
* First week of November |
** First week of November |
If flights resume as planned on October 24, a three-weekly terminator operation aboard the 
Boeing 787-9 will exist. The A330 was used until 2020, hence appearing in the above video. According to booking data for the first two months of 2026, Turkish Airlines’ top five countries for connecting passengers were Havana to/from Turkey, China, the UAE, Greece, and Russia.
