As Turkey and Syria begin to take stock of the devastating effects of last Monday’s earthquake, engineers have been working around the clock work at Hatay Airport (HTY) to repair its damaged runway. Following the extensive works, the airport reopened to commercial and humanitarian flights on Sunday night.
Turkish Airlines senior vice president for media relations, Yahya Ustun, announced the reopening late last night.
Hatay Airport is located 25km from the city of Antakya in southern Turkey, close to some of the areas worst affected by the earthquake. So far, Turkish Airlines and low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines have both resumed commercial services between Hatay Airport and their respective hubs at Istanbul Airport (IST) and Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (SAW).
Turkish Airlines – the first to depart
The first commercial flight to depart Hatay Airport following the runway repairs was Turkish Airlines flight TK6946, bound for Istanbul Airport, which departed at 00:38 on Monday morning. The flight, with 91 passengers onboard, was operated by one of the airline’s Boeing 737-800s, registered as TC-JVJ. Its route can be seen on FlightRadar24.com:
Turkish Airlines has advised passengers that for flights departing between February 13th and 19th, advance bookings must be made, in order to help the airline to plan its flying schedule. Passengers without a reservation will only be accepted for travel if space is available.
The country’s flag carrier has already evacuated 165,073 people from the earthquake-hit area on 1,002 flights, with plans for hundreds more flights over the coming days. Emirates and Lufthansa are among the international carriers to also offer their support.
With its runway fixed, Hatay Airport can now be added to the list of airports available for humanitarian aid flights. The airport’s location close to the worst-affected areas in the country means that it is vital in providing much-needed assistance to the region.
Pegasus Airlines has also resumed flights
Just under two hours after TK6946 departed, Pegasus Airlines flight PC4031 took off for Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport at 02:22. An Airbus A320neo operated the flight, registered as TC-NCK, with capacity for up to 186 passengers, although the first flight left with only 60 onboard.
In addition to Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines, a number of other carriers operate commercial flights from Hatay Airport. SunExpress flies to Izmir (ADB) year-round, with seasonal services to Antalya (AYT) and Düsseldorf (DUS), and is due to launch a new route to Stuttgart (STR) in May 2023.
Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier Flynas operates services to its hubs in Jeddah (JED) and Riyadh (RUH), and Turkish Airlines’ regional subsidiary, AnadoluJet, has flights to Istanbul (SAW), Ankara (ESB), and Ercan (ECN).
While no official announcement from other carriers has been made, these services are expected to resume in time. However, the priority for now, of course, remains to help the region and all those affected by last week’s tragedy.
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Have you ever flown through Hatay Airport? Which airline and aircraft type did you fly on? Share your experiences by commenting below.