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Turkish Airlines has stopped flights to 23 cities for now, mainly because of rising jet fuel costs and supply issues linked to the Iran war. These suspensions are mostly temporary, with some routes expected to restart in May, June, October, or even March 2027, as per the report by Simpleflying. The 23 cities are split into two groups — 5 mandatory suspensions and 18 optional pauses.

Mandatory suspensions (Iran airspace closed)

Flights to 5 cities in Iran are fully stopped because airlines cannot enter Iranian airspace right now. The affected Iranian cities are:

• Esfahan
• Mashhad
• Shiraz
• Tabriz
• Tehran

This is not the airline’s choice, but due to safety and airspace restrictions during the war. Normally, Iran is a very important market for Turkish Airlines, ranking among its top international destinations. The airline earlier had up to 6 daily flights to Tehran, showing how big the route was. Even though schedules show flights may restart in June, this is unlikely and may change.

African cities badly affected

Turkish Airlines has paused flights to 10 cities in Africa, as cited by Simpleflying.

These cities are:

• Bissau
• Freetown
• Hurghada
• Juba
• Kinshasa
• Libreville
• Luanda
• Lusaka
• Monrovia
• Pointe Noire

This move has removed almost 20% of its African passenger network. Most of these cities are in sub-Saharan Africa and were served using multi-stop routes to save costs. These routes helped the airline reduce fuel use and risk, but are now paused to cut expenses further. Many of these cities may see flights again only by October or March 2027, as per Simpleflying. Hurghada (Egypt) is a special case — flights will completely stop after June, ending a route that started in 2012.

Asia & Middle East suspensions

Apart from Iran, Turkish Airlines has also paused flights to 5 more cities in Asia and the Middle East.

These cities are:

• Aqaba (Jordan)
• Ferghana (Uzbekistan)
• Kirkuk (Iraq)
• Najaf (Iraq)
• Turkistan (Kazakhstan)

Some of these routes are quite new, like Kirkuk (since 2021) and Turkistan (since 2022). Aqaba flights were earlier connected with Amman in one route, showing flexible routing. Most of these cities may get flights back by March next year, but dates can change.

Europe & Latin America also hit

The last 3 affected cities are:

• Billund (Denmark)
• Havana (Cuba)
• Leipzig (Germany)

These are smaller markets, and higher fuel costs make them harder to operate profitably. Some airlines flying to Cuba even had to stop mid-way to refuel, showing how serious the fuel issue is.

Special focus: Havana route

Turkish Airlines has been flying to Havana since 2016, often linking it with Caracas. In January 2026, this route was separated (de-tagged) from Caracas. If flights restart on October 24, they will run 3 times a week using Boeing 787-9 aircraft, as noted by Simpleflying.

Earlier, the airline used Airbus A330 aircraft on this route until 2020. Havana passengers often connect to Turkey, China, UAE, Greece, and Russia, showing its role in transit travel.

The main reason behind all these suspensions is high fuel cost + supply issues, not just low demand. However, most suspended cities are also less busy routes, which makes them easier to pause during tough times. Turkish Airlines still remains the airline that flies to the most countries, even after these cuts.

What this means for passengers

If you have bookings to these cities, your flight may be cancelled or rescheduled. You should check your ticket status and airline updates regularly. Since many restart dates are uncertain, plans can change anytime.

FAQs

Q1. Why has Turkish Airlines suspended flights to 23 cities?

Turkish Airlines stopped these flights mainly due to high jet fuel costs and airspace issues linked to the Iran war.

Q2. When will Turkish Airlines flights to these cities start again?

Most flights may restart between June and October 2026 or later, but exact dates can change anytime.