Turkish Airlines has rebranded as Türkiye Hava Yollari, at the request of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The move is part of the country’s push to be internationally known as “Türkiye”, which is how its name is spelt and pronounced in Turkish. The name is pronounced tur-key-yay.
“Turkey no longer exists. It is Türkiye,” Erdogan said during a ceremony marking the launch of a new communications satellite. “Türkiye Hava Yollari will be inscribed on the bodies of our planes instead of Turkish Airlines.”
UPDATE
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told ruling party lawmakers on Wednesday that Turkey’s national airline will now be known internationally by its Turkish name “Türk Hava Yollar?“.
A day earlier, the Turkish leader had announced that his country would rebrand the national airline as “Türkiye Hava Yollar?” as part of his push for his country to be called “Türkiye”.