The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) has denied an application from Turkish Airlines to operate five additional weekly flights between Turkey and Canada for the 2025 IATA summer season.
Turkish Airlines had sought to expand its service with one extra frequency to Toronto Pearson, two to Montréal Trudeau, and one to Vancouver International between April 1 and October 31, 2025. This follows last year’s approval of one additional flight to Toronto for the 2024 summer season.
However, the CTA ruled against the airline’s request, stating that further extensions of extra-bilateral authority would “substantially change the negotiated regime of the [agreement on air transport between Canada and Turkey] outside the ongoing negotiation process.”
Under the existing air transport agreement, each country is allowed to allocate 12 weekly flights among its designated carriers. Currently, Turkish Airlines is the sole operator of direct flights between Turkey and Canada, apart from Biman Bangladesh Airlines, which offers fifth-freedom flights between Dhaka and Toronto via Istanbul. Air Canada previously operated direct flights to Istanbul Atatürk but discontinued the service in 2017.
Had the application been approved, the increased frequencies would have resulted in a 42% rise in capacity beyond the agreement’s current limits. Air Canada, Air Transat, Aéroports de Montréal, and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority opposed Turkish Airlines’ request, with Air Canada arguing that the proposed increase would be “unreasonably excessive within the confines of any extra-bilateral application,” according to the CTA statement.
The decision underscores the importance of bilateral agreements in regulating international air travel and maintaining a competitive balance in the market.
