Turkish Airlines returns to London Stansted after more than a decade

"Examining all the flag carrier's Istanbul-London flights in the 20+ years to December 2025 shows it has never had more than 11 daily departures," according to the release. This number is set to change in 2026 with up to fourteen daily services from London's capital.

British Airways operates between Heathrow and Istanbul Airport, while Wizz Air serves the Turkish airport from Gatwick and Luton. Combined with Turkish Airlines' new schedule, these carriers will offer up to nineteen daily services next April.

Sabiha Gökçen on the Asian side of Bosphorus is served by AJet and Pegasus at Stansted, while BA operates from Heathrow. Neither BA nor Pegasus has finalized their Sabiha Gökçen schedules for next April; however, assuming they remain unchanged from April 2025, London-Istanbul could see up to twenty-seven daily flights.

Analysis of booking data reveals that approximately a third of British Airways' passengers connect through Heathrow with New York JFK as a leading destination. For AJet on Stansted-Sabiha Gökçen routes, Gaziantep is popular among connecting passengers. Sixty-four percent of Turkish Airlines passengers transfer elsewhere from Heathrow/Gatwick with Antalya being a significant destination despite numerous nonstop options. Finally, about sixty-seven percent of Pegasus' traffic transits through Ercan in Northern Cyprus.