Turkish Airlines' northern winter schedule, which begins at the end of October, brings several notable changes on long-haul routes from Istanbul, including a new Singapore stop on Australia flights, extra South Africa frequencies and a planned return to Cuba.
Sydney flights switch to Singapore
From Oct. 26, 2026, the flag carrier will route its Istanbul–Sydney service via Singapore instead of Kuala Lumpur, Business Traveller reported, with the arrangement scheduled to run until March 2027. The flights operate five times a week with Airbus A350-900 aircraft, which have around 30 lie-flat business-class seats but no premium economy cabin.
The flight numbers change to TK22 and TK23. TK23 leaves Sydney at 21:35 and reaches Singapore at 02:50 before continuing to Istanbul, while TK22 departs Singapore at 08:30 and lands in Sydney at 19:25. For the first time, travellers can book the Singapore–Sydney leg on its own. Weekly Turkish Airlines flights to Singapore rise from 17 to 22, while Kuala Lumpur drops from 19 to 14. The carrier's separate three-weekly Istanbul–Singapore–Melbourne service continues.
More South Africa, and Havana planned
Turkish Airlines is also increasing its South African schedule from 14 to 20 weekly flights, according to Getaway magazine. Johannesburg goes from seven to 10 weekly flights from Oct. 25, 2026 until March 27, 2027, and Cape Town from seven to 10 weekly from Oct. 26, 2026 until March 28, 2027.
In the Caribbean, the airline plans to resume nonstop Istanbul–Havana flights three times a week with Boeing 787-9 aircraft from Oct. 25 at the earliest, AeroRoutes reported, noting that further changes are possible. The filed schedule shows TK221 leaving Istanbul at 15:30 and arriving in Havana at 20:35, with TK222 departing Havana at 22:20 and reaching Istanbul at 18:00 the next day.
Using the Istanbul stopover
For passengers connecting through Istanbul on these routes, the airline's Touristanbul programme offers free city tours on eligible layovers of six to 24 hours, while its Stopover in Istanbul scheme allows qualifying travellers to break their journey in the city. As always with winter schedules, travellers should confirm timings directly with the airline before booking, since frequencies and departure times can be adjusted.
Sources
- Turkish Airlines to Fly Istanbul-Sydney via Singapore from October – Business Traveller
- Turkish Airlines adds more Cape Town and Johannesburg flights from October 2026 – Getaway
- Turkish Airlines Plans Cuba Service Resumption in 4Q26 – AeroRoutes
Photo: Master of plane / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
