Turkish Airlines plans to launch a new service between Istanbul and London Stansted Airport next year, making it the third gateway in London for the carrier.

The airline will operate 14 weekly flights on the Stansted-Istanbul route, which is due to start on?18 March 2026.

With the addition of Stansted, Turkish Airlines will operate at six UK airports to Istanbul, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The carrier also operates flights between Istanbul and Dublin as part of the 170 weekly services from the UK and Ireland that it will offer this summer.

Mehmet Gurulkan, Turkish Airlines¡¯ general manager for London, said: ¡°We are delighted to launch flights from London Stansted, further strengthening our commitment to the UK market.

¡°By operating from Stansted, we are happy to support the airport¡¯s continued growth and contribute to job creation and economic development in the region.¡±

Gareth Powell, managing director at Stansted, added that the Turkish Airlines flights were a ¡°major milestone¡± for the Essex airport.

¡°Istanbul is a fantastic destination in its own right, but this new service also opens the door to Turkish Airlines¡¯ extensive global network, connecting London Stansted to over 353 destinations,¡± said Powell.

Stansted, which is part of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), is currently applying to extend its passenger limit to 51 million per year as part of ambitious expansion plans.?

The airport has also added new routes this year to destinations such as Royal Air Maroc¡¯s new Casablanca flights, which started last week. Earlier this year, KLM introduced flights to Rotterdam and Air Alg¨¦rie started services to Algiers.