Turkish Airlines (THY) has made a significant change to its Balkan flights for the summer 2025 season. The carrier cancelled planned frequency increases on key routes including Zagreb, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, and Pristina, and reduced frequencies on some routes altogether.
As part of these schedule changes, more than 22,000 seats have been removed from service during August and September.
Zagreb Route Plans Revised
Originally, three new night flights were scheduled to launch from 2 July, increasing the weekly frequency to 24. However, this plan was first postponed to 23 July, then revised to 23 weekly flights starting from 28 July. In September, flights will be reduced to 21 per week, and to 20 per week as of 8 September.
Temporary Decrease in Ljubljana
The number of weekly flights to Ljubljana was increased from 14 to 18 in mid-June. However, this will be temporarily reduced to 16 during the week of 4 August. The airline plans to operate 17 weekly flights until the end of September, with a target of returning to 18 in October—although this schedule has yet to be finalised.
Frequency Reduction on Sarajevo and Pristina Routes
On the Sarajevo route, one frequency will be cancelled in August, reducing the number of flights from 24 to 23. In September, the weekly flight count will be revised to 20. Similarly, flights to Pristina will drop from 14 to 13 per week during both August and September.
Over 100 Flights Removed from Schedule
In total, Turkish Airlines has removed over 100 scheduled flights for August and September. Most of these cancellations affect short- and medium-haul European routes. More than 22,000 seats have been removed from passenger planning.
Are Engine Problems a Factor?
While THY has not issued an official statement on the reason for the cancellations, sources within the aviation industry suggest technical issues may be a contributing factor. In particular, problems with the Pratt & Whitney PW1000G GTF engines used in the Airbus A320neo fleet are reportedly impacting operations.
Due to these engine problems, Turkish Airlines is expected to ground around 30 A320neo aircraft by the end of 2025. Previous estimates indicated this number could reach as high as 45.
(Source: turizmajansi)
