I have been looking at flights from Heathrow to Ankara recently for a trip I will be making in August.  But it appears there are no direct flights, but now you have to fly to Istanbul and take an internal flight.  Anyone know why?  I can only assume that it is a safety issue, as the Ankara flight was a stop over on the way to Damascus in Syria.

Hi libralady

I have flown direct from Heathrow to Ankara a couple of times and will be making the journey again in February but this time I too cannot find a direct flight.  I contacted BMI and was told that the direct flights would be cancelled for the winter months from October onwards and to contact them again next year to find out when direct flights would start again.  I think, for the winter months, it is not economical....when I flew with them in January this year I counted 26 people on board!!!!  It seems strange to me that we can no longer get a direct flight from one capital to another!! Hopefully it will only be for the winter months!!

When I flew with BA in Aug 2006, the flight to Ankara was a stop over on the way to Damascus and likewise for the return, and on the way home, we were denied boarding because the flight was over booked.  Most of the passengers on the flight were from Syria, so it seems strange that this route has stopped.  Anyway, I have emailed Turkish Airlines as I prefer them.  See what they say.

According to Turkish Airlines Timetable:

Route                             Departure     Arrival

---------------------          ------------      ---------

Birmingham-Ýstanbul      11.30           17.25

                                        13.15           19.10

London-Ýstanbul             14.35            20.15

                                        11.40           17.35

                                        07.55           13.50

                                       16.10            22.05

Manchester-Ýstanbul      11.30            17.30

London – Ýzmir              14.35            23.05  

(London . Heathrow Airport)

(Ýstanbul : Atatürk Airport)

(Ankara : Esenbo̡a РESB Airport)

(Ýzmir :  Adnan Menderes Airport)

There are direct planes to England ( London, Birmingham, Manchester) from Ýstanbul and Ýzmir.

There are not direct flight from England to Ankara and from Ankara to England, but planes from England to Ankara via Ýstanbul and from Ankara to England via Ýstanbul .

              Planes to Ankara from London via Ýstanbul

                             Departure                 Arrival

                            ----------------           -----------

                                 07.55                    17.05

                                 11.40                    20.05

                                 16.10                    00.55

P.S.

-  This THY timetable will change during summer time