Turkey–China Agreement Opens More Routes, Doubles Weekly Frequencies

Turkey and China have signed a new air services memorandum of understanding that more than doubles weekly passenger flight rights between the two countries—the first such expansion in 15 years.

The agreement follows bilateral talks in Beijing and raises permitted weekly passenger frequencies from 21 to 49 on both sides, with Turkish carriers also gaining rights to serve three new Chinese destinations: Chengdu, Urumqi and Xi’an.

Currently, the market is served by five airlines—Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Sichuan Airlines and Turkish Airlines—all of which had exhausted the available bilateral frequencies under the previous agreement. Turkish Airlines uses its full allotment of 21 weekly flights for daily service from Istanbul to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai. Chinese carriers divide their 21 weekly frequencies across five city pairs.

The increase in frequencies to 49 per week opens up new possibilities for each country, with Turkey's General Administration of Civil Aviation saying it marks “the beginning of a new era in air transportation relations.”

“Increasing the number of flights of Turkish carriers to a strategically important market such as China will make significant contributions to the connectivity of Turkish civil aviation in Asia and globally,” the authority adds.

The increase comes as the Turkey–China market continues to rebound strongly since the pandemic. Sabre Market Intelligence data shows that two-way O&D traffic reached about 555,000 passengers in 2024, up from 267,000 in 2023 and above the 449,000 recorded in 2019.

The Chinese side is already moving to take advantage of the expanded rights. As reported by Aviation Week, China Eastern plans to launch a new route from Routes Asia 2026 host Xi’an to Istanbul starting June 30, marking its second service to Turkey. Flights will operate three times per week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, using Airbus A330-200 aircraft.

Istanbul–Shanghai was the busiest Turkey–China city pair in 2024, accounting for 150,369 passengers, followed by Istanbul–Beijing (97,800) and Istanbul–Guangzhou (84,400).

Beyond passenger traffic, the expanded frequencies are also expected to support increased cargo volumes. In 2024, the bilateral trade volume between Turkey and China reached approximately $42.9 billion, according to China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.