A nonstop service between Viet Nam and Turkey is slated for launch in July 2016, the chief executive officer of the European country’s national flag carrier recently said.

The straight route will spare passengers the connecting flights in Thailand, Turkish Airlines CEO Temel Kotil said at a meeting with a Vietnamese delegation in Istanbul.

Turkish Airlines is eying an expansion of investment in the Asia-Pacific market, where air passenger growth is forecast to quicken at an average pace of 5.5% in the next 20 years, according to the executive.

A Turkish Airlines plane takes off at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul November 30, 2012. Reuters

Once the nonstop service is launched, there will be 4 to 5 flights from Istanbul to Ha Noi or Ho Chi Minh City per week, said Ngo Minh Duc, director of Huong Giang Co., the official agent of Turkish Airlines in Viet Nam.

Last year Turkish Airlines, with services to 110 countries and territories, became the third largest carrier by passengers in Europe, following Air France and Lufthansa.

(Source: tuoitrenews)