Turkish Airlines is preparing to open a new route to Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, in what would be another step forward in the slow warming of relations between the two countries.
The plan follows a rare meeting in June, when Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan travelled to Ankara to sit down with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It was a symbolic gesture after decades of mistrust and closed borders.
In a filing this week, Turkey’s flag carrier said it wants to launch flights to Yerevan, provided there is enough passenger demand. The news came shortly after special envoys from both nations met in Armenia on 12 September.
Borders still closed, skies reopening
Turkey’s envoy Serdar Kılıç even crossed into Armenia for the meeting via the land border — a route that has been shut to citizens on both sides for more than 30 years. That frontier remains officially closed, but air travel has slowly returned.
Armenia’s Foreign Ministry said after the talks that both countries agreed to prepare the ground for more airlines to operate flights from 2026.
A difficult history
Turkey and Armenia have never had formal diplomatic relations. The biggest obstacle has long been the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Armenia and many historians call it genocide, while Turkey acknowledges deaths occurred but rejects the term, arguing the violence happened during civil unrest at the end of World War I.
Building connections
Flights alone will not heal such deep wounds, but they are seen as a practical way to rebuild trust. For ordinary people on both sides, easier travel could open the door to more cultural, social, and business ties.
Turkish Airlines wouldn’t be the first to test the route. Low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines and Armenia’s FlyOne resumed services in 2022. If all goes ahead, Turkey’s national airline will soon join them — a small but symbolic sign that relations are moving in the right direction.
