Turkish Airlines opens new routes to Bahrain and Erbil, Iraq

Turkish Airlines recently opened up routes to two new locations in the Middle East, one flying from Istanbul to Erbil, Iraq and the other between Istanbul and Bahrain.

The Erbil route is currently flying four times a week, and will increase to seven weekly flights on Sept. 16. The new service to Bahrain is offered three times a week in both directions.

Both of the new destinations will connect with Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen International Airport. The additional routes brings the total number of destinations that Turkish Airlines connects through Sabiha Gökçen to 24.

Flights into Bahrain run every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday both ways and tickets start at $500. Flights connect to Bahrain International Airport in Muharraq, the nation’s only major airport.

Tickets to Erbil start at approximately $386, including taxes and airline fees. Flights there have been more in demand since the city was named the Arab Tourism Capital for 2014, which has drawn more travelers to visit the ancient city’s historic sites. The city, in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, is considered the oldest continuously inhabited site on the planet.

The new routes bring Turkish Airlines’ total number of global destinations to 276, with operations in 110 different countries. That makes the Turkish Airlines one of the biggest flight networks in the world.