Turkish Airlines will now be known as Türkiye Hava Yolları, Turkish president says
Türkiye Hava Yolları
Turkey’s national carrier is about to be rebranded, following an announcement from the country’s president on Tuesday. Speaking at the launch of the Türksat 5B Satellite, President Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the airline will now go by its Turkish name: Türkiye Hava Yolları (Hava Yolları simply translates as “Air Ways”). Commenting on the change, the president said:
“We have taken a symbolic step by changing Turkey’s name in the international sphere to ‘Türkiye’. From now on, the fuselage of our planes will be marked not as Turkish Airlines but as Türkiye Hava Yolları,”
The change comes as a part of a broader initiative to start using the Turkish name of the country internationally. A few weeks ago, the United Nations accepted a request from the country to formally change its name from Turkey to Türkiye (pronounced Tur-Key-yeh). The name change has been adopted by several other international organisations, including NATO.
Government officials say the name will help “preserve and glorify the culture and values of our nation”. The Government owns a 49% share of the national airline, with the remaining 51% publicly traded.
What does this mean for the airline?
The name change will require Türkiye Hava Yolları to repaint its entire fleet of over 342 active aircraft. The airline is the 12th largest in the world by fleet size and boasts over 330 destinations worldwide, so there is a lot of work to be done.
Though it may be strange for an airline that prides itself on its international connections to choose a domestic name, it’s not unheard of. Carriers such as Lufthansa and Aer Lingus have done just fine with names in their local languages. It could even be that the airline goes by its acronym, THY, in the manner of KLM (Koninklijke Luchtvaartmaatschappij) or TAP (Transportes Aéreos Portugueses).
What are your thoughts on the name Türkiye Hava Yolları? Let us know in the comments below!
