Cork Airport has announced that Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines joint venture carrier, SunExpress Airlines, will operate a new, twice-weekly service to Izmir in Turkey as part of the 2025 Summer Schedule, commencing on the 31st of May and operating through October. The new service will operate on Tuesday, and Saturday, and follows strong demand for a direct Turkish route from Cork Airport and will provide even more choice for consumers across the South of Ireland when choosing their next summer holiday.
Izmir, situated on the Aegean coastline is one of Turkey’s most idyllic and popular holiday destinations. Basking in a warm, pleasant climate all year round where average summer temperatures range between 27°C and 34°C, Izmir and the surrounding North Aegean region is home to popular holiday resorts of Kusadasi and Çeşme, to name but a few. The region also offers a range of cultural attractions such as Ephesus, an ancient city steeped in history and brimming with architectural marvels, 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.
SunExpress is a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines and provides direct connections between Europe and Türkiye. Voted as “Europe’s Best Leisure Airline” in both 2023 and 2024 and “World’s Best Leisure Airline” in 2022, SunExpress will be the ninth carrier to operate at Cork Airport during the 2025 summer season.
Commenting on the announcement of the new service, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless TD said, “I am delighted that SunExpress is launching this new route from Cork Airport. This service will bring increased options for travellers from Cork and the wider region to fly directly to their chosen holiday destinations. Cork Airport is going from strength to strength, and I am confident that the strong growth we’ve seen so far this year at Cork and across our regional airports will continue. 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.”
And the Managing Director at Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy added: “This will be our 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. Cork Airport is the fastest growing airport in Ireland with growth of over 10% this year and increasing numbers of people across the South of Ireland are choosing Cork over competing airports for the quality, friendliness, and speed of using our airport.”
Also commenting was the Head of Sales at SunExpress, Tobias Brachtadded: “We are excited to be introducing more choice for consumers and travel agents from the South of Ireland with the launch of the first service from Cork to Türkiye. With our excellent value fares, choice of travel options, and welcoming service, we are confident that SunExpress will quickly prove popular with passengers flying from Cork.”
