Turkish Airlines begins 737 MAX flights again

Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines has put one of its 737 MAX aircraft back into service following the Directorate General of Civil Aviation  737 MAX lift.

The first flight Turkish Airlines made with a MAX after the type’s grounding was from Istanbul airport to Ankara. TK2138 took off from Istanbul Airport at 10:10 a.m. and landed at Esenboğa Airport in Ankara just before 11:00 a.m. At 11:50, the aircraft flew back to Istanbul, landing at just after 13:00. At 16:00 on the same afternoon, it departed Istanbul to Izmir and returned just after 19:00.

Turkish is one of the European airlines that rely heavily on Boeing 737 MAX, with 75 MAXs joining its fleet in the future. The only companies ahead of Turkish Airlines by Boeing 737 MAX orders are IAG and Ryanair Group.

Currently, Turkish Airlines has 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and one Boeing 737 MAX 9 in its fleet. The MAX 8 variant has a two-class cabin, 16 seats in business and 135 in the economy. The single MAX 9 has a capacity for 16 business and 153 economy passengers.