The Ankara branch head of the Young Businessmen’s Association of Turkey (TÜGİAD), Barış Aydın, told members of the press on Friday that their calls for an increase in the number of international flights from Ankara have come to fruition, announcing that Turkish Airlines (THY) will be adding more flights from the capital.

Aydın commented that THY currently operates eight international flights to and from Ankara and plans to increase the figure to 16 in the near future, and 20 later on.

Noting that he had recently met with Emrullah Kirişçi, THY’s sales manager in Ankara, Aydın said THY flights from Ankara to Kiev would commence soon. “Flights to Mecca and Medina have already been confirmed but are waiting approval from Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Aydın also provided information on THY’s new project, “Capital to Capital,” explaining that with the implementation of the new project, direct flights from Ankara to Paris, London and Rome are expected to begin. THY will determine the destinations depending on demand.

Expressing his gratitude to THY’s management, Aydın however implied that the number of flights is still not enough. “Airlines are extremely important in connecting the world’s markets and more flights are crucial for development in sectors such as tourism as well as increasing the integration of Turkish businessmen with global markets,” he stressed, underlining that as competition in business becomes harder, the need for Turkish businessmen to compete under similar conditions becomes crucially important.

In addition, Aydın pointed out that Ankara has become much more integrated with neighboring cities with the construction of railroads and highways, which means that more people will want to fly via Ankara.

Meanwhile, THY Chief Executive Officer Hamdi Topçu expressed on Friday at another meeting that as the carrier increases the number of flights to Africa, commercial figures between the countries in Africa are expected to increase exponentially two to threefold.