The longest flight route from Denver International Airport to Istanbul is finally here | News

Turkish Airlines lands in Denver on Tuesday.

The longest flight yet from Istanbul to Denver International Airport will land at 4:15 p.m

The new route – over 10,000 km long – extends the reach of the travel center to the markets of the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

According to the carrier, the flight also operates within the Turkish Airlines network, connecting Denver with almost 90% of the world’s population.

DIA CEO Phil Washington mentioned during the April route announcement that the new flight would also improve connections to one of the world’s fastest-growing economies: India.

The Istanbul route – which Turkish Airlines has been promising to its investors since 2021 – is also a sign of increased demand between the two regions, as the number of passengers flying between Denver and Turkey’s largest city has increased by 50% since 2019, according to the airport.

Turkish Airlines will fly three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays with the 316-seat Airbus A350-900, with a fourth Sunday flight starting on July 9. Denver is the carrier’s 14th destination in the US.

This is the latest international flight booked by local officials to expand Denver as a global travel hub and increase economic opportunities for companies to establish a U.S. presence in the metropolitan area.

According to DIA, the connection to Istanbul is expected to boost Colorado’s economy by more than $54 million and create 350 jobs.

Last month, Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus also joined DIA, offering flights to Dublin.

Nearly 50 city and business officials traveled to Dublin ahead of the inaugural flight to strengthen trade and tourism ties between Ireland and Colorado.

The airport is also in talks to attract a flight connecting Denver to Africa. Former Denver Mayor Michael Hancock visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Cairo last year to attract African carriers to Denver. In 2022, he also went to Istanbul, Dublin and London – all of these cities can currently be reached on non-stop flights.

“We have full confidence that we will soon have a direct flight to the African continent,” Washington announced in April.

The airport is working on its Vision 100 plan to prepare for an expected 100 million passengers by 2027. Last year, the airport served a record number of passengers, almost 78 million.