Turkish Airlines only landed in Australia in 2024, but it's already thinking about doubling its footprint. The Star Alliance carrier, which currently flies to Sydney and Melbourne, is reportedly weighing up Brisbane and Perth as its next Australian gateways.
Right now the airline runs five weekly Istanbul–Sydney services (via Kuala Lumpur, switching to Singapore Changi on 26 October) and three weekly to Melbourne via Singapore, all on Airbus A350-900s. Load factors have topped 85%, helped in part by travellers rerouting around Middle East airspace tensions. Passenger numbers on the Australian routes are up 19% year on year.
Crucially, Turkish holds rights for up to 35 weekly services to Australia and is using just eight. That leaves enormous room to grow — even adding thrice-weekly Brisbane and Perth flights would use less than half its allocation. Brisbane and Perth would likely launch via Singapore too, with true nonstop Istanbul flights on the cards once the airline's Airbus A350-1000s arrive around the middle of next year.
Who actually flies these routes? Booking data shows Sydney passengers mostly connect on to London, Athens, Skopje, Rome, Belgrade, Paris, Dublin, Berlin, Milan and Warsaw, while Melbourne travellers favour Athens, London, Rome, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Belgrade, Paris, Ohrid and Dublin — strong ties to Turkish diaspora and Balkan markets. Perth and Brisbane, by contrast, would lean more on Western European connecting traffic.
For travellers, the practical upside is competition. Australian long-haul flying has long been dominated by Qantas, Emirates, Qatar and Singapore Airlines, and another well-connected player means more fare options. Turkish serves 125 European airports nonstop from Istanbul, so if you're heading from Australia to Europe — especially Greece, Italy, France or the Balkans — a one-stop itinerary via Istanbul is increasingly viable, with Perth and Brisbane potentially joining the map soon.
