Cork Airport has announced a new summer route to Turkey’s third-largest city, commencing from next year.
From May until October 2025, there will be twice-weekly flights, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, from Cork to Izmir on Turkey’s Aegean coast.
Announcing the new service, Cork Airport said there was “strong market demand” for the route. Izmir has long been a popular destination for sunseekers given its year-round fine weather and its proximity to resorts like Kusadasi and Çeşme.
The city, Turkey’s third-largest after Istanbul and Ankara, is also home to numerous historical attractions including Agora, an open-air museum in which visitors can admire the remnants of the ancient Greek city of Smyrna, and Kadifekale, a hilltop castle constructed in the 3rd century BC.
The city is also just an hour from Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The operator of the new service will be the airline SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airways which provides direct routes from Europe to Turkey.
Speaking on Wednesday, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless, said the new service would bring “increased options for travellers from Cork and the wider region to fly directly to their chosen holiday destinations”.
Mr Lawless said Cork Airport is “going from strength to strength”.
“I welcome the addition of a new airline and new destination to Cork’s route network, building on recent announcements of other new routes. This is further evidence that demand exists for new services to and from our regional airports,” he said.
“I wholeheartedly believe there is latent demand for further options to fly from airports aside from Dublin airport, indeed two in five people who fly out of Dublin come from outside the greater Dublin areas, so of course they would welcome further choice from Cork and other regional airports, and I am working to expand the connectivity to the regions.”
Tara Finn, Cork Airport’s Head of Aviation Business Development and Communications said the Izmir route addition will “undoubtedly be a highlight of our extensive range of holiday routes next summer”.
Cork Airport is the fastest-growing airport in Ireland, and its passenger numbers are expected to increase a further 10% this year.
The airport’s managing director Niall McCarthy said the SunExpress service to Izmir represents the ninth scheduled carrier to operate out of Cork Airport.
“It is really fantastic to see a new route, to a new country, operated by a new airline added to our schedule next year,” he said.
