Turkish Airlines is making a substantial retreat from parts of its international network for the 2026/27 winter season, permanently removing 11 destinations from its schedule and delaying the return of two others.
The changes are part of a wider network restructuring that has already seen the Istanbul-based carrier suspending 18 international destinations during 2026, including nine in Africa.
According to updated schedule data reported by AeroRoutes, Turkish Airlines has now removed Juba, Kinshasa, Libreville, Luanda and Lusaka from its future schedule after those services had previously been canceled through October 24.
A further six destinations — Billund, Ferghana, Kirkuk, Leipzig/Halle, Najaf and Turkistan — have also been permanently removed after previously being scheduled to remain suspended through March 27, 2027.
Two other destinations, Aqaba and Havana, have not been permanently abandoned but will no longer return for the start of the winter season. Their earliest possible resumption has been pushed back to the week beginning March 28, 2027.
The changes are significant for a carrier that has built much of its strategy around using Istanbul as a global connecting hub. Turkish Airlines had expanded aggressively into Africa, Central Asia and other underserved markets, often using relatively thin routes to feed traffic through Istanbul.
The winter cuts suggest that the economics of some of those routes have become harder to sustain, particularly with the strong surge in fuel prices. The latest changes come as the Turkish carrier continues to reassess capacity following geopolitical disruption and changes in passenger demand.
Regarding its network to and from Iran, Turkish airlines highlights that it would potentially resume flights only from March 28, 2027 at the earliest. The carrier plans to fly again to Ispahan, Mashhad, Shiraz, Tabriz and Tehran Imam Khomeini International.
Although Istanbul remains a huge global hub, the obvious consequence from the Gulf War is an attrition of secondary destinations served by Turkish Airlines this winter. With the African continent losing an important connecting hub.
