Offering its guests the opportunity to fly directly to 126 countries from Istanbul, Turkish Airlines added Xian, the Chinese city with 3,000 years of history, to its flight network on December 30, 2019.
With this, Xian became the flag carrier’s fourth destination in Mainland China and the 318th destination in the world.
The flights are operated three times a week with Airbus A330 aircraft.
Starting its flights to China back in 1999 with Beijing as its destination, Turkish Airlines “reinforced its strong position in Asia” with the Xian flights, the airline said in a statement. With this new addition, the carrier’s flight network encompassed the entirety of the historic Silk Road that started in Xian and ended in Venice.
During a ceremony held to mark the inaugural flight, Turkish Airlines general manager Bilal Eksi said: “We will carry our guests to 126 countries from Xian, one of the most significant historic capitals, while transferring the Silk Road to above the clouds with our cargo operations. Our new flights will also contribute to the tourist numbers coming to our country with the increasing attention from Chinese tourists to tourism centres in Turkey.”
Turkish Airlines passengers travelling to Xian will have the opportunity to explore the numerous cultural and heritage attractions along with the historical fabric of the city.
Serving as the capital of 13 different dynasties through the history of China, the region’s most popular attraction is the Terracotta Army, which features 8,000 terracotta soldiers and draws more than 2mn tourists annually.
To view the flight schedule, visit www.turkishairlines.com or visit any Turkish Airlines sales office.