ISTANBUL

Türkiye’s low-cost airline AJet, a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, will begin flying to Georgia's capital of Tbilisi from Ankara on October 1.

The flights will be four times a week, with the ticket sales beginning on Tuesday, AJet's Chair Ahmet Bolat announced on the US social media company LinkedIn on Tuesday.

"With the Tbilisi route, we connect Ankara to 31 cities in 24 countries. We are proud to be the only airline operating flights from Ankara to more cities and countries, both domestic and international," Bolat stated.

He said that with flights to Madrid and Barcelona, ​​which AJet will launch at the end of October, it will reach 33 cities in 25 countries from Ankara.

"We are also working on flights to Brussels, Milan, and Rome. We expect our business partners, the chambers of industry and commerce, and tourism organizations to assist us with lobbying and work with the relevant organizations in these countries," Bolat stated.

"We're not just building an air bridge to Ankara; we're also running an intensive promotional campaign to help it reach its rightful place in tourism. We want to position Ankara as the emerging hub of its region," he stressed.

He explained that one of the most important steps in this vision is the "Ankara+ (Plus) Project," which aims to transform the capital and the surrounding provinces into a tourist attraction.

"We expect our guests to spend two days in our capital and the following days in the surrounding provinces, from Cappadocia to Konya. We will provide our guests with services ranging from gastronomy to health tourism," Bolat said.

Bolat said they are creating an inclusive and sustainable ecosystem in which all stakeholders, from tourism and commerce to health care and gastronomy, will benefit in the medium and long term. They are also conducting an intensive campaign to promote the project, which includes press trips and social media influencers.

"Every bridge we build in the sky is a new door opening to the future. The steps we are taking for Tbilisi, Madrid, and Barcelona are a strong demonstration of our goal of connecting Ankara to the world," he added.