Southwind_Airlines

Southwind Airlines

Southwind Airlines

Turkish airline

Not to be confused with Southwest Airlines or Nordwind Airlines.

Southwind Airlines is a Turkish leisure airline founded in April 2022 by Cortex Havacılık ve Turizm Ticaret A.Ş. Flights to Russia commenced in August of that year, while Germany was added to its network a month later. The airline's main base and headquarters are in Antalya. The airline was banned from EU airspace in March 2024.

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History

Foundation

Southwind Airlines was formally announced in April 2022, based out of Antalya, Turkey. Affiliated with Russian tour operator Pegas Touristik,[1] the airline aims to prevent the loss of Russian tourists coming to Turkey following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[2] The airline received preclearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in June of that year.[3] The first commercial flight was flown to Perm on 12 August.[4]

Charter flights to Germany commenced in September 2022.[5] In February 2023, the airline announced plans to carry tourists to Antalya from 16 Russian cities during the summer season.[6] The number of aircraft in the fleet is expected to be 14 by the end of 2023.[7]

EU airspace ban

On 25 March 2024, Southwind Airlines was banned by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency from operating flights to Finland. According to the agency, Southwind Airlines is factually a Russian airline attempting to bypass European Union sanctions against Russia, imposed in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.[8]

Following the Finnish assessment, the airline was banned on 28 March 2024 from the entire EU airspace, subject to regulation No 833/2014.[9] The airline was to begin flights under its own brand to several airports in the United Kingdom in summer 2024 as well, which however were all subsequently also cancelled.[10] Shorty after, Switzerland formally banned the airline as well.[11]

Destinations

Southwind Airlines operates flights to the following destinations:[citation needed]

More information Country, City ...

Fleet

Southwind Airbus A330-200
Southwind Boeing 737 MAX 8

As of April 2024, Southwind Airlines operates the following aircraft:[18]

More information Aircraft, In service ...

References

  1. [1]
    Charlotte Seet (22 August 2022). "Airline Startup: Southwind Begins Operations In Georgia". Simple Flying. Archived from the original on 23 August 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Antalya merkezli yeni havayolu faaliyetlerine başlıyor". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 15 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. [3]
    "Southwind'e SHGM'den ön izin çıktı". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Türkiye's Southwind launches flight ops". CH Aviation. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. [5]
    "Southwind Airlines Avrupa uçuşlarına başlıyor". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. [6]
    "Southwind 16 şehirden Antalya'ya turist taşıyacak". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. [7]
    "Turkish Newcomer Southwind Airlines To Triple Fleet In 2023". Aviation Week Network. 6 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  8. [8]
    "Traficom will not allow Southwind Airlines flights to Finland". Finnish Transport and Communications Agency. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. [9]
    Eiselin, Stefan (28 March 2024). "EU verbannt Southwind Airlines aus Luftraum". aeroTELEGRAPH (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. [10]
    aeroroutes.com - SOUTHWIND AIRLINES NS24 UK SERVICE REVISION – 26MAR24 26 March 2024
  11. [11]
    aerotelegraph.com (German) 9 April 2024
  12. [12]
    "Турэцкая авіякампанія адмяніла палёты па маршруце Мінск - Стамбул". BelTA – News from Belarus, © Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  13. [13]
    "Southwind Airlines Adds Astana Service in NS24". AeroRoutes. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  14. [14]
    "Trei companii aeriene de peste hotare lansează curse directe spre și dinspre Chișinău. Care sunt DESTINAȚIILE". www.ziarulnational.md. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  15. [15]
    "Лоукостер Southwind открыл продажу авиабилетов на прямые рейсы из Калининграда в Турцию". www.newkaliningrad.ru (in Russian). Новый Калининград.Ru. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  16. [16]
    "Из Волгограда в Турцию и Грецию с туроператором PEGAS Touristik!". Volgograd International Airport. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  17. [17]
    "Southwind Airlines Schedules Belarus mid-Dec 2023 Launch". AeroRoutes. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  18. [18]
    "planespotters.net - Southwind Airlines Fleet Details and History". 1 April 2024.

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