The war in ’ caused energy and fuel prices to skyrocket, but another interesting trend that could actually benefit travelers has also developed.
According to an analysis by flight comparison site FlightsFinder.com, some affordable airlines, such as Ryanair, WizzAir and EasyJet, charge their fares. %From 10 to %It appears to have dropped by 30 percent.
Founder Shahab Siddiqui Europe in Motion’a “Our fee history shows a steady decline in prices over the past few months, ” said. For example, “UKRoutes from ’ to European destinations such as Nice, Palma and Barcelona %From 10 to %It's down by 30. ”
According to experts, lowering prices is part of some airlines' strategy to make travel as attractive as possible to potential customers. weaker demand and broader economic lossesThis is what the industry is currently facing.
Such discount prices can be reached through fuel risk hedging, which allows airlines to fix or cap fuel prices for a certain period of time. But Siddiqui warned that these competitive prices would not be sustainable in the long run.
“These agreements will expire in the second half of this year, which is expected to trigger a universal price increase on all intra-European routes.”
How much does Iran increase the prices of warplanes in ’?
Although some holidaymakers travelling within Europe can still find cheap tickets, those traveling further afield probably won't have the same chance, given that non-European destinations are more affected by disruptions due to the conflict in the Middle East’ and increases in fuel prices.
As FlightFinder’'s research shows, prices have been approximating in recent weeks. %With an increase of 300%, important corridors between Asia and Europe were particularly affected.
The London-Singapore route saw one of the sharpest increases; The average ticket fares increased from about 600 Euro’ to almost 1,800 Euro’. London’ to Bangkok’ %A similar increase of 273’ was recorded.
Currently, however, some of the most expensive tickets are for the Frankfurt-Singapore and Paris-Bangkok routes, with round-trip tickets currently selling for around 2,800 Euro’.
According to FlightFinder’, some airlines have increased fares, while others have canceled flights altogether; KLM withdrew 50 flights due to operational costs.
Other airlines are trying to offset high costs with price increases: According to FlightFinder’, Air France and Lufthansa have introduced an additional fee of 10 Euro’ on all medium and long-haul routes.
Snapshot of airspace between Europe, Africa and Asia seen on Monday, May 25, 2026
Which airlines are rerouting flights and where?
While flying through Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Doha’'s usual super-connector hubs has become riskier, some carriers are heading to Istanbul and Cairo’ye, or even Ethiopia’ye, for destinations such as the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean’.
In the report of FlightsFinder’, “Passengers are actively rebooking Turkish Airlines ’ as a result of joint alliances to stay in Istanbul’ and dodge the Gulf countries.
Other airlines, such as British Airways and Cathay Pacific, have increased the number of direct routes to Asia’, completely bypassing stopovers in the Gulf’, and adding direct flights to Bangkok and Singapore’a once a week.
What should travelers do to minimize time and money losses?
FlightFinder warns that long-haul flyers should expect their journey to take an estimated one to four hours longer than usual, given that routes that are usually direct now also include pauses due to refueling or rerouting needs.
In light of this, travel experts recommend leaving a waiting period of at least three hours, as “rota congestion can disrupt the synchronization of schedules.
Experts also recommend booking flexible tickets to minimize disruption, as well as requesting a refund if the route is severely disrupted.
Do you automatically receive a refund on non-European flights?
No, no, no, no. Unlike AB’den or countries like the US and UK, worldwide refunds are not always guaranteed.
Passengers should check the country-specific laws and the airline's policies in case of any disruption before traveling.
Another suggestion is to fly as lightly as possible.
Baggage handling systems are under increasing pressure as flights are unexpectedly redirected and routed through alternative hubs.
FlightsFinder recommends that if you have “, insert a smart GPS tracker like Apple AirTag into it so you can locate it if it's lost due to a chaotic connection, ” advises.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu came together with senior executives of THY, AJet, Pegasus and SunExpress Airlines in Istanbul and discussed the general situation of Turkish civil aviation in internal and external lines and its future predictions.
Minister Uraloğlu, in his press statement after the meeting, ⁇ We discussed the lack of flights in our country and how we can eliminate these deficiencies, especially by focusing on the issue of internal border flights. ⁇ said.
⁇ WE SHOW SENSITIVITY TO MAKE FLIGHT NUMBERS CONSISTENT, ACTIVE AND EFFICIENT ⁇
Minister Uraloğlu stated that airline enterprises are commercial organizations operating on the principles of free market, ⁇ Betting on starting a flight on a line on normal bases, increasing the number of flights, making ticket discounts or campaigns is at the sole discretion of the enterprises. However, as we do today as the Ministry, we carry out systematic consultations with airline operators and convey our evaluations for regions where demand is heavy in the country and ensure that the necessary plans are made.
Especially in summer periods, we receive requests from our citizens to increase the number of flights due to the number and density of flights. Because, we show a special sensitivity to make the number of flights to every point of Turkey stable, active and efficient. He used his words.
⁇ RECOVERY OF 139 THOUSAND 103 PASSENGER CAPACITY WITH 670 PASSENGER FLIGHTS IN THE FILOS OF AIRLINE BUSINESSES ⁇
Stating that 14 airline companies licensed in Turkey operate and 4 of them operate internal line passenger flights, Minister Uraloğlu said, ⁇ The airline companies in our country have a capacity of 139 thousand 103 passengers with a total of 670 passenger aircraft in their fleets. Today we carry an average of 207 passengers per plane.
Of course, we didn't come easy these days. On May 20, 1933, with the decision of the Airline State Enterprise Administration under the Ministry of National Defense to start service, our first fleet of 4 aircraft started to operate under the name of Turkish Air Mail.
Turkish Air Mail, which started to flap its wings by making its first flight in 1933, has now taken almost the whole world under its wings under the name of Turkish Airlines.
If you ask about the first commercial airport, I can tell you the area called Güvercinlik today in Ankara ⁇ . As for the terminal, there was nothing but a few tents. However, today, we have 58 airports with Çukurova International Airport, which we opened on August 10. Our Istanbul Airport, which we opened in 2018, continues to maintain the first place it has had for years as the heaviest airport in Europe. He said it.
100 of the Republic. PASSENGER RECORD OF ALL CASH WAS BREAKED IN 2023
Reminding that 399 passengers traveled by air in 1939 compared to the first statistic shared by the State Statistical Institute in 1939, Minister Uraloğlu said that after 1985, the number of external borders passengers exceeded the number of internal lines passengers, and after 1990, we observe that the increase in the number of external lines passengers reached striking dimensions.
When we come to 2002, while approximately 8 million 730 thousand passengers are traveling at the internal borders, we see that this number has risen to more than 25 million in the outer lines. That is, in 2002, we had about 34 million passengers traveling along the inner and outer lines.
We see that our number of airline passengers has steadily increased in parallel with the development of our aviation department since 2002 until 2020, when we experienced the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Of course, there is a decrease in these years due to the epidemic effect. However, in 2023, the centenary of our Republic, we have broken the record of all times by carrying more than 214 million passengers.
At the end of the year, we predict that our number of passengers will rise to the top of 236 million.
Uraloğlu noted that the number of flights including transit overpasses at the Turkish airport in 2023 increased by 14.9 percent compared to the previous year and increased to 2 million 167 thousand 19 ⁇ a, Thus, in 2023, a plane passed through the skies of Turkey every 15 seconds.
We will reach much higher prices than these statistics this year and in the coming periods; By the end of this year, we expect our passenger numbers to exceed 236 million and 250 million by 2025. I think that one of the most striking examples of the expression ⁇ from where ⁇ , which is frequently expressed by our President, is our increasing number of passengers in parallel with the development in our airline department. ⁇ He spoke on condition.
⁇ BY THE END OF THIS YEAR, OUR NUMBER OF FLIGHT POINTS ON EXTERNAL LIMITS WILL BE 349 ⁇ A
Uraloğlu noted that there are currently an average of 7 thousand weekly reciprocal flights by carriers at internal borders and an average of 20 thousand flights at external borders. ⁇ At this point, as the Ministry, we continue to provide the necessary supplements in the internal lines as we help airline businesses to increase flights at external points.
For example, as a result of our long-term negotiations, with the prestige of Santiago ⁇ ya, the capital city of Chile, on December 18, 2024, we start flights with THY as 4 weekly frequencies on the Istanbul-Sao Paolo (Brazil)-Santiago line. Thus, it will be your first time to Chile. On the other hand, THY will start flights on the Istanbul-Kuala Lumpur-Sydney border with its historical prestige on December 4, 2024.
Following the Melbourne flights that started this year, Sydney will be the second new point we will open in the Australian continent. Thus, at the end of this year, our number of flight points at the external borders will increase to 349 ⁇ . ⁇ He said it.
⁇ 2025 TRAVEL NUMBERS WILL BE INCREASED IN LINES WHICH HAVE PRIOR REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SUMMER PERIOD ⁇
Minister Uraloğlu, domestic lines, in the middle of cities with a travel time of at least 5 hours or more by road or train, at least one flight every day in the morning and evening, and the previous period, the season occupancy average of more than 95 percent, mentioning that plans were made on the side of putting an additional flight, ⁇ Now, businesses will start feasibility studies as soon as possible in lines with priority need for the summer term of 2025 and the number of flights will be increased. We, as the Ministry, will be a follower of whether our airline companies have increased the number of flights in line with this planning we have made. ⁇ He used his words.
12 NEW INTERIOR LIMITS WILL BE STARTED AT THE END OF OCTOBER
Uraloğlu stated that in the summer period of 2024, the average occupancy of carriers in Turkey was at 90 percent. This level is 85% in the winter period due to the decrease in mobility. However, as I have just stated, we have given the necessary notifications to increase the flights to our businesses at the points of need in line with the demands from our citizens.
As a result of the evaluation we made at our meeting, I would like to share here the announcement that 12 new domestic border flights will be started by Sunexpress Airlines with the prestige of the end of October in the coming winter period as a result of the studies we started earlier. ⁇ He said it.
RIZE-ARTVIN AIRPORT-ANTALYA EXPERIENCES START
Minister Uraloğlu, who gave information about the new expeditions, We are launching Rize-Artvin Airport-Antalya, Antalya-Bursa, Antalya-Erzurum, Antalya-Şanlıurfa, İzmir-Elazığ, İzmir-Nevşehir, İzmir-Sivas, İzmir-Şanlıurfa, Çukurova-Bursa, Çukurova-Samsun, Çukurova-Trabzon and Çukurova-Van.
With these flights, we will also expand the domestic border flight network of Çukurova International Airport, which we have just opened.
I wish him well already. Just like Izmir and Antalya ⁇ yi, Anadolu ⁇ da, which received many demands from our citizens at the same time, especially during the summer period; We will connect Bursa, Erzurum, Sivas, Nevşehir, Elazığ, Şanlıurfa cities and increase the number of flights on some borders. ⁇ He used his expressions.
⁇ WE WILL OFFER A MORE ACCESSIBLE AND REACHABLE AIR TRANSPORT TO OUR CITIZENS ⁇
Uraloğlu stated that they also discussed the status of the flights requested urgently at the meeting, ⁇ We have evaluated our domestic border flights based on lines, especially in our provinces based in Istanbul and Ankara, where there is only one flight per day or there are no flights every day of the week. In the next period, I believe that precedent campaigns will increase rapidly within our internal borders.
Our airline companies will complete their feasibility studies as soon as possible and inform our Ministry at which points and how many times they will increase their domestic border flights. After this study, if necessary, we will come together with businesses once again and reveal our roadmap in a clearer form. In this way, we will offer our citizens a more accessible and accessible air transportation. ⁇ He said it.
CEILING PRICE APPLICATION SHOULD BE TRAVELED IN A TIGHT WAY
Uraloğlu said that one of the valuable agenda elements of the meeting was the ceiling price application applied in airline transportation, As you know, since 2012, we have been applying a ceiling price in order for our citizens not to be victims and for each part to be able to use the airway.
Since August; We apply a ceiling price of 2 thousand 500 liras for 80 percent of the tickets on a flight and 4 thousand liras for the remaining 20 percent as a result of the sale of these tickets.
In our meeting, we reminded our businesses once again to comply with the ceiling price application in a strict form. Whether our citizens are happy, we are also tightly controlling this application. ⁇ He used his expressions.
When Western countries announced that they would impose sanctions on Russia, which occupied Ukraine, the Kremlin responded by banning all European and North American airlines from flying over Russia.
Virgin Atlantic has cancelled flights from London to Shanghai, while British Airways has suspended flights from London to Beijing.
According to sources working in the field of air transport, one of the reasons behind this was the Russian airspace ban and the extra cost it brought to the airlines.
However, the ban imposed by Moscow did not apply to Chinese-based airlines. As a result, Chinese companies, which aim to expand globally, have managed to take away a significant portion of their Western competitors' market share.
However, considering that China's economic growth slowed after the pandemic, the expected improvement in air transportation could not be achieved at the desired level. On the other hand, geopolitical tensions between China and the United States have caused some airlines to have to restrain their targets.
The right to use Russian airspace, which Western companies do not have, and cheap costs give China-based airlines a huge advantagePhoto: Zhao Zishuo/Xinhua/IMAGO
The price of passing Russia ⁇ tangent
John Grant, chief analyst at OAG ⁇ , the company that collects data in the aviation field, says the Russian airspace ban is a big problem for airlines. Grant stated that under normal conditions, Beijing could be reached and returned from England within 24 hours, and flights to Beijing and Shanghai allowed an aircraft to be evaluated effectively. However, the airspace ban required five and a half hours to be added to that period. That's a big problem for us, he says.
Grant said that this extra time spent in the air means extra fuel and salary costs for airlines, and he emphasized that more should be paid for airports with heavy traffic.
The Qantas riddle
Australia-based airline Qantas ⁇ 's announcement in July that they had ended flights on the Sydney-Shanghai line, although the Russian airspace ban did not affect them, raised questions for many.
Yi Gao, who works in the field of aviation and transportation technologies at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, points out that Qantas ⁇ 's flights to mainland China have always been ⁇ limited ⁇ . Gao is of the opinion that it would be a wrong approach to conclude that the recent interruptions in the flights of Western airlines to China are widespread.
In the face of this, Gao points out that Chinese companies are becoming increasingly competitive with Western companies, and this has an impact on the decisions of Western companies. In his assessment of DW ⁇ ye, Gao said that the competition brought by ⁇ Chinese airlines plays a vital role. Taking advantage of the cost advantage, Chinese airlines are able to offer attractive prices on flights from Chinese cities and to Chinese cities, he says.
The fact that the Australian-based airline Qantas ⁇ has stopped flights to Çin ⁇ e despite being able to fly in Russian airspace says a lot about the growth of Chinese companiesPhoto: PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images
Singapore-based aviation analyst Brendan Sobie likewise says that growing competition is behind Qantas ⁇ 's decision. Speaking to DW ⁇ ye, Sobie says ⁇ Qantas has a hard time competing with Chinese airlines ⁇ . Pointing out that the demand for travel has also increased during this period, which has returned to the conditions before the pandemic, Sobie says that Chinese companies have turned this into an advantage:
In the few years before the pandemic, Chinese airlines were aiming for a strategic expansion into international markets. After the pandemic, we see the same thing coming back. Many people want to put the responsibility on the issue of Russian airspace, and this is definitely a decisive factor for foreign airlines. However, I think that the rise of Chinese companies will happen without a Russian air ban.
Pandemic hits Chinese aviation
Chinese airlines have increased the volume of flights to European cities such as Istanbul, London, Budapest, Madrid and Milan since 2019. Apart from the North American and Indian markets, Sobie points out that the international capacity of Chinese companies is returning to the pre-pandemic era.
The pandemic had dealt a major blow to China's aerospace ambitions. Months before the virus took over the world, Beijing Daxing International Airport opened with great enthusiasm. On the other hand, Chinese people who travel abroad have been at the top of the list of those who spend money on international tourism and airlines in the world for years. However, severe pandemic restrictions imposed by the government severely hampered the Chinese's chances of traveling by 2023.
John Grant, ⁇ China ⁇ 's goal was to create a ⁇ hub ⁇ in Beijing Daxing ⁇ , followed by a ⁇ hub ⁇ in Shanghai. There, domestic flights were planned to be connected with international flights, and even international flights were planned to be connected with other international flights. However, the pandemic has destroyed these targets, he says.
Nevertheless, the attractiveness of the international flight capacity and prices of China-based airlines to Chinese consumers, coupled with the pressure on Western-based airlines, has enabled China to increase its market share in the field of air transportation.
Although Chinese travel abroad has increased in 2024, pre-pandemic conditions have still not been achieved. Tyrone Siu and Reuters
The U.S. and China: The planes are still in the hangar.
While it is observed that Chinese companies are increasingly opening up to Europe, the same cannot be said for the North American market. The two main reasons for this are the weakness of the competitiveness of Chinese companies in this market and the geopolitical tension between the US and China.
As Beijing tightened border controls with the pandemic, travel opportunities between the U.S. and China disappeared. Although China is keen to resume flights between the two countries, the number of flights available between the two countries today is 15% of the number in 2019.
Washington, on the other hand, is not warm enough to increase flights. In an environment where geopolitical competition is intensified, the US is afraid that this step will give Chinese airlines more advantages than American companies. U.S.-based airlines such as Grant, United, Delta and American have no interest in flying China more than they currently do. Just as European companies have no interest, they evaluate ⁇ .
While aviation experts agree that post-pandemic travel habits and geopolitical issues will continue to determine the relationship between Western-based airlines and China, the Chinese market remains important to major players. Grant believes that Lufthansa, Air France and British Airways will want to resume flights to Beijing in the long run:
In time, they will all want to return to the Chinese market. Although China has not grown as much as everyone expects, it is still a big market.
