On December 12, 2016, Turkish Airlines launched their three times weekly flights between Istanbul and Zanzibar.

Following the addition of the city pair, which operates via its existing services to Kilimanjaro, the Star Alliance carrier will now be flying to 293 destinations worldwide, 50 of which are in Africa. These include the African cities of Dar es Salaam, Kilimanjaro, Nairobi, Mogadishu, Djibouti, Asmara, Addis Ababa, Kigali, Entebbe and Zanzibar.

Ahmet Olmustur, Chief Marketing Officer at the airline said: “Turkish Airlines is proud to transport people around the globe to experience new cultures, share ideas and create memories that will stay with them for a lifetime. We are delighted to open the new route to Zanzibar, a truly remarkable destination. We continually seek out opportunities to expand our network and look forward to welcoming our passengers on their way to Zanzibar in the near future.” Services are operated by the airline’s 737-900s and the route faces no direct competition.