THY reports 1.8 billion TL loss! Bosphorus mansions given to AKP-linked businessman

Turkish Airlines (THY), which has been criticized for years for being viewed as an employment hub for government loyalists, is once again in the spotlight. THY, which was expected to report a profit of 626 million TL for the first quarter of 2025, announced 2 days ago that it had incurred a loss of 1.8 billion TL. Millions of stock market investors suffered losses as shares fell following this announcement, leading to an outcry against THY. Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Bosphorus mansions, which were previously taken from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) to be operated as a hotel by THY, were restored by THY and handed over to an AKP-linked figure.

According to a report by Turizmgazetesi, the Fehime and Hatice Sultan (Naime Sultan) mansions in Istanbul's Ortaköy district were given to AKP-linked Serkan Yazıcı. 

IBB HAD FILED A LAWSUIT

THY had previously announced that it would operate the site itself, but the hotel was given to Yazıcı, who was an AKP candidate for Mayor of Marmaris Metropolitan Municipality and lost the election. It is unknown how much THY spent on the restoration, or for how many years and for what amount the hotel was leased to Yazıcı. While the mansions were under the ownership of the Provincial Special Administration, they were leased to THY for 100 million dollars in 2009. They were transferred from the Special Administration, which was closed in 2014, to the IBB.

The IBB had filed a lawsuit to reclaim the property, citing THY's failure to complete the restoration. In 2022, the government transferred full ownership of the mansions to THY. CHP Istanbul Deputy Oğuz Kaan Salıcı asked, "Tens of millions of dollars were spent on the restoration of the mansions. Why were these two mansions in the most beautiful part of the Bosphorus suddenly leased to Serkan Yazıcı, despite THY Do&Co having sufficient experience in this field by operating 32 restaurants and hotels in 12 countries across 3 continents, and after so much investment was made?"

HOTELIERS IN UPROAR: WHY WAS THERE NO TENDER?

The quiet handover of the mansions to former AKP mayoral candidate Serkan Yazıcı has also sparked outrage among tourism professionals. Stating that such leases should be conducted through a tender process, Serdar Karcılıoğlu, founder of the Bodrum Professional Hotel Managers Association, said, "These are the most valuable mansions in the country. If THY is not going to operate these mansions, which will go down in history as the most prestigious hotels and provide tremendous earnings, but instead lease them, why didn't they announce it to the public? There are many of our colleagues who would want to operate this hotel. We would have entered that tender, and it would have been given to the highest bidder. The public institution would also have come out more profitable."

News Source: 12punto