Published at 0600PDT / 1300GMT 23SEP26 easyJet in early-November 2026 schedules 2 round-trip Liverpool – Istanbul flights, on board Airbus A320 aircraft. Planned operation as follows. U23351 LPL1410 – 2115IST 320 03NOV26 U23351 LP0905 – 1610IST 320 05NOV26 U23352 IST2205 – 2335LPL 320 03NOV26 U23352 IST1700 – 1830LPL 320 05NOV26
Countries: Türkiye, Syrian Arab Republic Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees Please refer to the attached file. Highlights UNHCR in Türkiye is working with 12 RLOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) across the country through grant agreements. UNHCR’s engagements with these RLOs aim to foster consultation, community outreach, participatory assessments, protection monitoring, safe identification and referral of persons at heightened risk, and dissemination of accurate information on rights, services and available referral pathways. UNHCR maintains close working relations with the RLOs, particularly from an accountability perspective, and to increase their participation in decision-making processes. In 2026, UNHCR's RLO grantees in Türkiye delivered a wide range of protection, empowerment and community-based services for refugees and host communities, reaching thousands of beneficiaries in various provinces including Istanbul, Gaziantep, Adana, Kayseri, Trabzon, Uşak, Mardin, and Şanlıurfa. Organizations such as ARSA , AHCSA , and ASA led awareness-raising workshops and life-skills trainings for children and youth on child rights, prevention of early/forced marriage, and peer bullying, alongside empowerment sessions for women and girls addressing self-protection, communication, and confidence-building. ULFED and SURIAD focused on institutional strengthening and economic inclusion, training RLO representatives in project management and safeguarding, and planning business-dialogue sessions to reduce fraud exposure and expand Syrian entrepreneurs' access to formal labour markets.
ReliefWeb•UN High Commissioner for Refugees22 Sept
From Sabancı's Yoko Ono exhibition to İstanbul Modern's Renzo Piano building, Turkish conglomerates are investing heavily in culture to boost the city's global appeal.
Euronews22 SeptPublished at 2000PDT 21SEP26 / 0300GMT 22SEP26 AJet in the first quarter of 2027 plans to launch a pair of routes to Kazakhstan from Istanbul, with flights to Almaty and Astana scheduled with Turkish Airlines aircraft. Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen – Almaty eff 05JAN27 2 weekly 737-800 VF281 SAW2050 – 0405+1ALA 73H 27 VF282 ALA0515 – 0940SAW 73H 13 Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen – Astana eff 07JAN27 2 weekly 737-800 VF287 SAW2045 – 0345+1NQZ 73H 4 VF287 SAW2100 – 0400+1NQZ 73H 1 VF288 NQZ0450 – 0850SAW 73H 5 VF288 NQZ0510 – 0910SAW 73H 2
Published at 0100PDT / 0800GMT 21SEP26 Thai Airways International (THAI) and Turkish Airlines last week expanded codeshare partnership, covering additional 21 routes. Following codeshare routes went into effect since mid-September 2026. THAI operated by Turkish Airlines Istanbul – Alexandria Istanbul – Basel/Mulhouse Istanbul – Bremen Istanbul – Bucharest Istanbul – Cairo Istanbul – Cologne/Bonn Istanbul – Frankfurt Istanbul – London Heathrow Istanbul – London Stansted Istanbul – Malta Istanbul – Munich Istanbul – Nuremberg Istanbul – Salzburg Istanbul – Stockholm Arlanda Istanbul – Stuttgart Istanbul – Thessaloniki Istanbul – Zurich Turkish Airlines operated by THAI Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Manila Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Nagoya Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Sapporo New Chitose Bangkok Suvarnabhumi – Tokyo Haneda
Corendon Airlines announced its summer 2027 flight schedule at its annual Amsterdam business partner Get Together. The schedule, which is now available for booking, includes the launch of new routes to Istanbul and Bulgaria in summer 2027, alongside its previously announced Curaçao service starting in December 2026. Despite challenging market conditions, Corendon Airlines continues to expand its route network while maintaining a strong focus on customer satisfaction.
The Iranian lender has faced years of Western sanctions over alleged ties to Tehran's nuclear programme.
Al Jazeera19 SeptPublished at 1500PDT / 2200GMT 18SEP26 FlyArystan in late-October 2026 plans to add new route to Türkiye, as the carrier opened bookings for Aktau – Istanbul route. Airbus A320 aircraft to serve this route twice weekly from 22OCT26. Schedule below effective 27OCT26. FS7625 SCO0835 – 1030IST 320 6 FS7625 SCO0840 – 1035IST 320 2 FS7626 IST1115 – 1640SCO 320 6 FS7626 IST1140 – 1705SCO 320 2
The relocation of the Spanish Super Cup to Istanbul highlights the globalization of football, potentially increasing its international fanbase and market.
CryptoBriefing•Editorial Team18 Sept
Click to expand Image Demonstrators assemble on September 15, 2026, outside the Istanbul courthouse to protest the arrests of LGBT activists and raids on LGBT rights associations in cities across Türkiye. More than 100 demonstrators were also arrested and detained for more than 24 hours. © 2026 Güliz Sağlam (Istanbul, September 18, 2026) – The Turkish government’s major crackdown on groups and activists defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people threatens the rule of law and fundamental rights in Türkiye, Human Rights Watch said today. On September 12-14, 2026, coordinated police raids targeted seven groups defending the rights of LGBT people and two supporting people living with HIV, as well as bars and nightclubs in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Aydın, and Mersin. Police arrested at least 112 people, with 82 still detained under court order. At least 24 of them are LGBT activists, founders or executives of the targeted groups, and one is a journalist. “This crackdown is a blatant attempt to criminalize and marginalize LGBT people and silence the groups that stand up for their rights,” said Benjamin Ward, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Turkish government should immediately release LGBT activists and others arrested without credible evidence of criminal wrongdoing and end its campaign against LGBT groups.” On September 12, Türkiye’s Justice Minister Akın Gürlek announced that 162 people were under investigation in an operation named “My Family Is Safe,” carried out in the context of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s May decree announcing a “decade of the family.” In recent years, Turkish officials have repeatedly invoked protection of so-called family values to justify discrimination against LGBT people. The crackdown has nothing to do with protecting families and everything to do with entrenching hateful discrimination, Human Rights Watch said. The arrests and raids on associations and businesses in different cities have been conducted as separate investigations under the orders of chief prosecutors’ offices in those cities. The justice minister announced that the investigations involved criminal charges including “obscenity,” sex work, and drug-related offenses. He also said that “LGBT and immorality promoting associations” are funded from international sources. Such funding—whether from European Union-related sources, foreign government sources, or from private foundations—is entirely legal in Türkiye, provided recipients notify the authorities. There is no evidence of any failure to comply with that obligation as the Turkish authorities regularly audit all associations for compliance with the law. Associations and groups aligned with the Erdogan government and indeed the government itself benefit from EU funding. In Ankara, police arrested 14 officials from the executive and supervisory boards of the leading LGBT rights organization Kaos GL. Its lawyers told Human Rights Watch that police questioned them in detail about the group’s foreign funding, content on the group’s social media and internet site and other social media, the recruitment of new members, and the internal workings of the association. A court ordered the detention of seven Kaos GL executive and supervisory board members on allegations of violating the law on associations and for “obscenity,” and released another seven under judicial control orders. The evidence includes social media postings with two photos of men kissing. The court also ordered the detention of journalist Tuğba Tekerek. The only evidence the prosecutor cited against her is a 2024 news report she wrote mentioning LGBT rights in Georgia published on the Kaos news portal website. In Mersin, a court detained six activists, including a lawyer, associated with two LGBT rights organizations in the city, accusing them of “obscenity” and sex work-related offenses. In Kuşadası, a court detained two activists from a local LGBT initiative. In Istanbul, the chief prosecutor’s investigation into LGBT rights associations and groups supporting the right to health of people living with HIV included arrests of activists, founders, and executives of the groups on suspicion of “founding, leading or being a member of a criminal organization,” “obscenity,” sex work and drug-related offenses, and violations of the laws on associations. Human Rights Watch has seen a restriction order on the investigation file, which means that information about the evidence and content of the investigation is currently withheld. On September 16, a court ordered the detention of nine executives, founders, and members of the LGBT rights groups Lambda Istanbul, Hevi LGBTİ, SPoD and Pozitif-İz, which supports people living with HIV. The nine are detained for allegedly violating the law on associations. There are serious concerns that the authorities will initiate separate cases to close down the rights organizations following the detention of their executives, founders, and members, Human Rights Watch said. In Izmir, Kuşadası, and Mersin, courts have also detained dozens of other people on suspicion of “obscenity” as well as sex work-and drug-related offenses. They are not known to be civil society activists or rights defenders. On September 14, police using pepper spray intervened in a gathering in Izmir over the anti-LGBT crackdown and arrested two people. On September 15, police surrounded and arrested over 100 people who had assembled to protest the crackdown in front of the Istanbul Caglayan courthouse. They were held for over 24 hours, then released. According to the Freedom of Expression Association, which monitors restriction of online content in Türkiye, between September 12 and 16, courts issued orders to block dozens of social media platforms and websites belonging to LGBT and other rights groups, rights activists, and individuals. The X (formerly Twitter) accounts of Amnesty International in Türkiye, the daily newspaper Evrensel, the Media and Law Studies Association, a media freedom group, and Hak İnisiyatifi, a human rights group, were also ordered blocked and remain blocked. On September 14, the justice minister issued a circular to chief prosecutor’s offices throughout Türkiye titled “Protecting the Family, Young People and Society from Violations of General Morality and Negative Content and Entities.” The circular encourages prosecutors to investigate “activities encouraging the erasure of gender distinctions in children and young people,” collect digital evidence, and request the blocking or removal of online content. The circular specifies that investigations may approach the issues as organized crime and financial crime investigations. “The systematic criminalization of LGBT rights groups and activists and blocking of online content advocating for or reporting on them is part of the Erdogan government’s broader attack on the rights to freedom of expression and association,” Ward said. “Weaponizing the rhetoric of ‘family values’ to pursue discrimination, stigma, and state repression puts everyone at risk.”
Istanbul police detained Galatasaray veteran Hasan Şaş and Netflix actor Aras Bulut İynemli alongside a rapper, a sports journalist and influencers in the fourth such celebrity drug operation since late 2025. Prosecutors said the investigation covers use, facilitation and supply of narcotics.
Euronews18 Sept
A wrong passport, a missing frequent-flyer number, and food poisoning turn a positioning flight to Denver into a chaotic scramble through Istanbul, Chicago, and Cairo.
One Mile at a Time•mickyb18 Sept
Test yourself on topical news trivia, pop culture and general knowledge every Thursday. How will you fare? At the very moment this week’s Thursday quiz launches on the website, the quizmaster fully intends to be supping a pint of beer at Stansted airport en route to Istanbul, and will presumably overfly Syldavia on the way. In between packing their books on Byzantine history, reading the rules on transporting feral hogs and fretting about the prospect of someone the size of Gary Barlow’s massive son reclining the seat in front of them, they still found time to write 15 questions on topical news, obscure pop culture trivia and general knowledge for your delight. Allons-y! The Thursday news quiz, No 265 Continue reading...
The Guardian•Martin Belam17 Sept
Protesters teargassed as minister claims widespread raids and arrests under obscenity laws were to ‘protect families’ Turkish authorities have used accusations of obscenity to justify a wave of raids and arrests targeting the LGBTQ+ community, which has grown to include journalists as well as more than 150 arrested during protests against the raids. Starting in the early hours of Sunday, Turkish police carried out simultaneous raids on the offices of LGBTQ+ rights organisations and HIV-advocacy groups in the cities of Istanbul, the capital, Ankara, and the coastal city of İzmir, as well as the cities of Aydın and Mersin. Continue reading...
The Guardian•Ruth Michaelson in Istanbul17 Sept
Update comes as Turkish Airlines is pushing to expand its operations out of Istanbul.
The ruling party has been increasingly vocal against LGBTQ+ groups in a bid to consolidate the more conservative elements of its base.
Turkish police detained at least 150 pro-LGBTQ protesters in Istanbul on Tuesday, 15 September, during a demonstration against a nationwide crackdown on the LGBTQ community.
Euronews15 Sept
The Istanbul carrier permanently axed Luanda, along with four other African routes, becoming the latest international airline to exit the Angolan capital since its new airport opened in 2023. The facility was built for 15 million annual passengers but handled fewer than 800,000 in 2025.
Euronews14 Sept
EXCLUSIVE: Warsaw, Hamburg, Istanbul, New York – brave Russian journalists who dared to report the truth about their country have had to scatter across the globe to avoid imminent arrest. News anchors and reporters Anna Nemzer, Irina Dolinina, Ksenia Mironova and more turned My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow into a […]
Deadline•Matthew Carey14 Sept
Turkish Airlines has further revised its operations for the upcoming 2026/27 winter season, which begins on October 25 and runs through to March 27 next year. This week, the Turkish flag carrier removed an average of more than 100 weekly flights from its timetable compared to its original schedule, with Podgorica, Skopje and Pristina among the destinations affected by the latest changes. Turkish Airlines is further reducing flights between Istanbul and Podgorica . After initially cutting frequencies from eighteen to fourteen weekly, the carrier has now reduced services to ten per week throughout the winter. As part of its European Union accession process, Montenegro will introduce visa requirements for nationals of Turkey, Belarus, China, Russia and Saudi Arabia from November 1. Turkish Airlines’ Podgorica services carry a notable number of Turkish travellers, as well as connecting passengers travelling to and from Russia, with the new visa measures expected to impact demand. As previously reported, Turkish Airlines will suspend operations to Tivat for the entire upcoming winter season. The carrier had initially planned to maintain three weekly flights between Istanbul and the Montenegrin coastal city, matching frequencies from the previous winter. Although Turkish Airlines also scheduled the route last winter, it ultimately suspended operations in January for the remainder of the season following Montenegro’s temporary introduction of visa requirements for Turkish nationals. This time, no flights are planned for the entire winter season. Skopje will see its frequencies reduced by two per week, from fourteen to twelve weekly, while Pristina services will be cut from ten weekly last winter to eight per week. As noted in previous schedule revisions, Turkish Airlines will reduce operations to Sarajevo from the originally planned fourteen weekly flights to twelve throughout the winter season. Services to Zagreb will also be cut from sixteen or seventeen weekly last winter, depending on the month, to fourteen weekly this coming winter. Overall, Turkish Airlines has put 683.424 seats on sale on flights to and from the former Yugoslav markets during the 2026/27 winter season, down 9.1% on the previous winter, or by 68.530 seats. The number of flights has been reduced by 12.9%, with 591 fewer services scheduled. EX-YU Aviation News