Turkish Airlines is launching a direct flight between Cape Town International Airport and Istanbul Turkey today, with the flight scheduled to land at 13h00 in the Mother City. This development is due to the increasing demand for a direct Cape Town route for international travellers.

​The airline will be transporting passengers daily using Airbus 332, which has the capacity to carry  228 economy and 22 business class travellers. The flights will have a flying chef on board who will prepare and serve candle-lit dinners to all business class passengers, while economy class passengers will enjoy elegant meal options that are selected from Turkish and world cuisines. Each passenger will also receive a personal entertainment screen.

"Turkish Airlines flies all year round and this direct flight is welcomed news! We are optimistic that this direct flight will result in increased business or tourism travel," said Deidre Davids, Communications Manager, Cape Town International Airport. "The increasing demand of flights has seen the airport experience a 7.14% increase on international passenger arrivals in the 2014/2015 fiscal year as compared to the previous year. This growth is a result of the number of international airlines that fly directly from Cape Town, a convenience that our passengers seem to appreciate," added Davids.

"The Origin and Destination Source Markets by Region report shows that our airport processed about 1 133 352 million passengers between Cape Town and Europe in 2014 as compared to about 1 058 926 million of 2013. It is anticipated that these numbers will further increase with this new direct flight to Turkey" added Davids.

Turkish Airlines' Cape Town branch has indicated that the bookings for this route are going very well. "Our first direct flight to Istanbul has been booked to capacity and the bookings for the other flights are following suit. We are confident that our Cape Town / Istanbul route will be a great success. Cape Town's growing reputation as a first class tourism destination is responsible for the growing influx of international travellers," said Kenan Ince, General Manager of the Turkish Airlines Cape Town branch. "We are confident that the direct flight will be addressing a growing need among international travellers to fly directly to Cape Town as well as enabling local Cape Town travellers to reach Europe without any stopovers," added Ince.

"The peak season is on our door-step and we will once again see extensive activity at the airport our seasonal carriers which include Condor, Edelweiss, Air France, Virgin Atlantic and Lufthansa have all commenced with their Cape Town route starting 25 October 2015. The estimated peak season growth between September 2015 and March 2016 is anticipated at 3% compared to the previous year," concluded Davids.