Cork Airport has announced a new addition to 2025’s summer schedule.
Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines joint venture carrier, SunExpress Airlines, will operate a new, twice-weekly service to İzmir, Türkiye commencing on May 31, 2025 and operating through October.
The new service follows “strong demand” for a direct Turkish route from Cork, Cork Airport said.
İzmir and the surrounding North Aegean region is home to popular holiday resorts of Kusadasi and Çeşme, to name a few.
The region also offers a range of cultural attractions such as Ephesus, an ancient city steeped in history and the nearby House of the Virgin Mary.
Izmir also offers many culinary delights, including a wide range of nearby wineries, and was recently added to the Michelin Guide’s Turkish map.
Welcoming the announcement of the new SunExpress service to İzmir, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless, said the service “will bring increased options for travellers from Cork and the wider region to fly directly to their chosen holiday destinations”.
“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.
“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,” he added.
SunExpress will be the ninth carrier to operate at Cork Airport during the 2025 summer season.
“Operated by SunExpress, the addition of a Turkish destination will undoubtedly be a highlight of our extensive range of holiday routes next summer,” Tara Finn, head of aviation business development and communications at Cork Airport said.
“We have noted strong demand in the market for a direct Turkish route from Cork Airport and I would like to thank SunExpress for establishing this new service.”
Niall MacCarthy, managing director at Cork Airport, said it is “fantastic” to see a new route, to a new country, operated by a new airline added to the airport’s schedule next year.
