‘Cult-loving’ Turkish Airlines gives free tickets to the sheikh squad!

Air travel used to be a privilege reserved only for the wealthy.

Then, the number of airports and airplanes increased; air transport was opened to the private sector. Traveling by plane became easier for the middle class as well.

In fact, flying to many cities became as cost-effective as taking a bus.

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Now, however…

Flying has once again been turned into a luxury for the high-income bracket.

Rising fuel prices certainly play a role in this.

But while a round-trip ticket for one person between Ankara and Istanbul cost a quarter of the minimum wage four years ago, today it has exceeded half of it…

Moreover, round-trip fares for long-haul routes like Trabzon, Rize, Kars, Erzurum, Gaziantep, and Diyarbakır have become almost equal to the minimum wage.

But…

There are some for whom flights are free…

And that applies to both domestic and international routes!

Whenever they want to go anywhere, they hop on Turkish Airlines (THY) planes as if they were their own property and travel without paying a single penny.

Who are they?

The religious sects that have made agreements with THY to receive “free tickets”!

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Bülent Falakaoğlu from Evrensel has reported that THY has entered into agreements with many foundations and associations established by religious sects, offering these organizations free tickets, discounts, and privileges…

Among the organizations receiving these privileges, the İsmailağa Community and its affiliates reportedly stand out…

THY management is distributing thousands of free or discounted tickets to sects, pro-government associations, and friends and acquaintances!

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For example, the İsmailağa Association, which is the association of the İsmailağa Community, was given 132 free international and 244 free domestic economy-class tickets in 2021.

Dozens of economy-class trips were also gifted to be used for Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

The total cost of these to THY reportedly reached 180 thousand dollars.

If only it stopped there…

THY has made grants to the same association in the past as well.

74 thousand dollars in 2018.

110 thousand dollars in 2019.

And 160 thousand dollars in 2020.

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The “pro-Reis” Intercultural Education and Friendship Association (KADDER) was also provided with a 50 percent discount for one thousand international tickets in 2021.

They were also granted 150 kg of baggage allowance per flight and the right to free ticket changes.

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Almost every institution close to the government has practically lined up.

Like TÜGVA, where AKP members make up the management staff and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son Bilal Erdoğan serves on the High Advisory Board, or the Archers Foundation (Okçular Vakfı)…

Various rights and privileges have been granted to them by THY as well.

They didn’t neglect to take precautions so their deeds wouldn’t be exposed!

While details of the privileges provided by THY in 2021 and previous years were accessible, access to protocols for subsequent years has been blocked…

In 2022 and 2023, when access was blocked, the privileges provided saw an increase of 20-30 percent in dollar terms.

The number of sects and communities with which discounted and free ticket protocols were signed has also increased.

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THY is a public institution with publicly traded shares…

Just a month and a half ago, this institution took the Sultans of the Net, the pride of Turkey, to the USA on a scheduled flight in economy class, drawing a major public backlash.

Now we see that to have privileges on THY planes and even use them as if they were your own property, you don’t need to be a world champion; you need to be a member of sects and communities.

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As a citizen of the Republic of Turkey who has been rendered unable to even dream of air travel except for urgent matters, I condemn this privilege granted to sects and invite the THY management to resign!

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I’m a funny guy, aren’t I?

Inviting them to resign!

What I’m asking for only happens in real democracies; not in one-man regimes…

In religious one-man regimes, “the sheikhs fly,” and the community prays so the plane doesn’t crash!