Direct flights between Antalya and Rize have begun

The first of the direct flights planned to be operated twice a week between Antalya and Rize throughout the winter season took off from Antalya Airport at 08:30 today.

The aircraft, which completed its maiden flight with 151 passengers, landed at Rize-Artvin Airport. The same aircraft later operated its return flight from Rize to Antalya at 10:55.

Mehmet Okumuş, one of the passengers who traveled from Antalya to Rize, told reporters that he was excited about the inaugural flight.

Pointing out the importance of the start of Antalya-Rize flights, Okumuş said, "Antalya is an important tourism destination not only in Turkey but in the world. I had gone to Antalya for business. Today, I came to Rize on the flight that was operated. Even though it is not the summer season, the plane was full. There were foreign passengers on the plane."

Expressing that the launch of direct flights between Antalya and Rize will bring vitality to the region, Okumuş added, "It will also make significant contributions to tourism. It shouldn't stop here. This beautiful investment has been made here. The number of flights needs to be increased even further. The airport will then have reached its true purpose."

Esra Karaaslan, who traveled from Antalya to Rize with her children, said that thanks to the direct flights, they were able to reach their hometown easily.

Explaining that being on the first flight made them a bit excited, Karaaslan stated, "There was applause and such when we were getting off the plane. I live in Alanya. To come to my hometown, I would go from Alanya to Antalya. From there, we would go to Istanbul, and then take a connecting flight to Rize. Previously, it would take me 6-7 hours to get here by plane. Now I arrived in 1.5 hours. It was very nice. We want these flights to continue. I bought my ticket as soon as I saw the direct flight. That's why we were quite excited."