Türkiye and Canada Expand Direct Flights by 75% Under New Aviation Pact
A landmark aviation agreement signed at the Canada–Türkiye summit (22–24 October) raises weekly direct passenger flights to 21 — a 75 percent increase — and opens unlimited cargo routes, supporting the newly announced Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
Canada and Türkiye signed an expanded bilateral Air Transport Agreement during a summit held between 22 and 24 October 2026 in Ankara and Istanbul, which Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney attended. The deal is the centrepiece of the newly announced Canada–Türkiye Strategic Partnership. It raises weekly direct passenger flight frequencies by 75 percent to 21 services and transitions cargo operations from restricted quotas to a fully open regime, enabling unrestricted freight movement across transcontinental supply chains. The agreement precedes formal bilateral trade negotiations scheduled to begin in November 2026. With two-way merchandise trade already valued at $4.3 billion in 2025 — including $1.1 billion in Canadian exports and $3.2 billion in imports from Türkiye — both sides framed the deal as essential infrastructure for a future Free Trade Agreement. The pact is also expected to benefit leisure tourism, business and MICE travel, and the Turkish-Canadian diaspora concentrated across Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, and Alberta, who have previously faced limited and costly connectivity for visits to friends and relatives.
