Turkish Airlines opens new destination in Nigeria

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's national flag carrier on Tuesday launched direct flights from Istanbul to Nigeria's oil-rich southern city of Port Harcourt.

Port Harcourt became Turkish Airlines' fourth destination in Nigeria and its 56th in Africa, according to a statement from the company.

Round-trip flights between Istanbul and Port Harcourt will be operated four times a week.

The statement said that with the launch, Turkish Airlines continued to lead "as the airline that flies to more destinations than any other airline in Africa."

Kerem Sarp, Turkish Airlines senior vice president of sales, said the move was a milestone in the company's mission of growth in Africa.

"We are happy to add Port Harcourt to our flight network, and enable our passengers in here to experience a seamless flight journey with the Turkish Airlines privilege," Sarp said.

With a fleet of 335 passenger and cargo aircraft, Turkish Airlines now flies to 311 destinations in 124 countries -- 261 international and 50 domestic.