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Sichuan Airlines launches fifth freedom flights between Istanbul and Athens

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Sichuan Airlines launches fifth freedom flights between Istanbul and Athens
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Sichuan Airlines | Official Website

On June 30, Europe saw the introduction of a new fifth freedom service between Istanbul Airport and Athens, operated by Sichuan Airlines. This marks an expansion for the airline, which is not commonly highlighted on the international stage.

Fifth freedom flights are segments of routes that begin and end in an airline's home country but allow for booking between intermediate stops. These services often involve widebody aircraft and lesser-known carriers, offering potentially affordable tickets.

Sichuan Airlines now connects Chengdu Tianfu to Athens, marking the first time Chengdu has direct flights to Greece. The service operates four times weekly using Airbus A330-200 and A330-300 aircraft. The final flight of this seasonal service will be on October 24.

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This new route extends Sichuan Airlines' existing Chengdu-Istanbul service, which resumed in 2023 after a pandemic-related pause. With about nine hours of ground time in Türkiye, extending to Athens is seen as a low-risk expansion strategy. However, it reduces seat availability for local Istanbul passengers despite a limited codeshare agreement with Turkish Airlines.

The route from Istanbul to Athens is also served by Aegean Airlines, SKY express, Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Airport, and Pegasus from Sabiha Gökçen. Collectively, these airlines offer up to 12 daily flights in July on this city pair.

Europe hosts few fifth-freedom flights at its airports. Apart from Sichuan Airlines' new service, Emirates operates between Dubai and Newark via Athens. In contrast, Etihad's Abu Dhabi-Athens service via Mykonos and Santorini does not have traffic rights within Greece.

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