Turkish Airlines to start direct flight from Juba in June

The Turkish Airlines will launch a direct flight from Juba to Ankara on June 1, 2022, the Turkish ambassador to South Sudan, Erdem Mutaf, has revealed.

Amb. Mutaf told the media on Wednesday that the first flight of the Turkish airline will land at Juba International Airport on June 1, 2022, to mark the operationalisation of the agreement signed last month.

“Today is a very important day because I would like to announce the start of Turkish Airlines to Juba, starting from June 1, 2022, to have a direct flight between Ankara and Juba three times a week,” said Mutaf.

The diplomat disclosed this after an agreement was signed between his country and South Sudan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.

Last month, a Turkish delegation met with the Vice President for Economic Cluster, Dr James Wani Igga, in Juba, and agreed to launch a direct flight from Juba to Ankara to ease people’s movements and goods between the two countries.

The delegation was led by the deputy manager of Turkish Airlines, Enes Saim.

Dr Igga welcomed the decision, which he said could diversify the country’s economy by attracting international investors to create job opportunities for thousands of youth in South Sudan.

“The government will continue partnering with Turkish Airlines in South Sudan to achieve development goals, and such projects would boost the economies of the two countries in the field of airlines,” said Dr Igga.

Currently, Turkish Airlines operates in 122 countries and 304 destinations all over the world, with 114 destinations in Europe, 17 destinations in America, and 37 destinations in the far East and Asia.

Since the return of peace in 2018, South Sudan has been slowly gaining back business by luring investors to jumpstart the economy in the country.

Turkish Airlines will now add on to make six total international airlines with direct flights to South Sudan, including Sudan Airlines, Uganda Airlines, Kenya Airlines, Ethiopia Airlines, and Rwanda Airlines.

In August last year, the Ugandan First Airbus A330neo, a similar airline, landed at Juba International Airport for the first time from Entebbe.

The airline that has full comfort with 20 full–flat, business–class, and 28 premium-economy seats, as well as 210 economy class seats, totalling 258 seats, landed several times in Juba.