Turkish Airlines passengers transiting through Istanbul with lengthy transfer times are once again being offered a stopover service at the carrier’s primary hub.
The Star Alliance member’s stopover accommodation service was first launched in 2017 but was placed on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The airline has this month confirmed the service has now been rebooted.
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“With the effects of the pandemic lessening, the flag carrier is starting to continue this service as of 2022 in order to elevate passenger experience to a new level,” Turkish Airlines said.
Passengers with long connection times in Istanbul are provided a voucher for either a 1-night stay in a 4-star hotel when travelling in Economy class or 2-nights in a 5-star hotel for Business class. The accommodation vouchers are issued after a ticket is purchased. Additionally, passengers will also have the option of staying at contracted hotels with prices starting from US$49 per night.
Turkish Airlines General Manager Bilal Ekşi said; “We aim to show the Turkish hospitality and unique wonders of Istanbul to our passengers opting for stopover accommodation service while contributing to tourism in Turkey and increase the number of transfer passengers of Turkish Airlines. Passengers can also increase the length of their initial free of charge accommodations with advantageous Turkish Airlines prices at contracted hotels and discover even more of Istanbul.”
Over 57,000 transfer passengers from 42* countries and 108 cities took advantage of the Istanbul stopover service so far. The scale of the project is being planned to be expanded by 15** new countries this year.
*42 countries (departure point): Algeria, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Canada, China, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana, Greece, Ireland, India, Iran, Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Portugal, Qatar, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom and the United States of America.
**Planned 15 countries (departure point): Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Indonesia, South Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Argentina, Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
Lead image: Sunset in Eminonu, Istanbul from a ferry | Credit: Meric Dagli/Unsplash