Southwind Airlines

Turkish airline From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Southwind Airlines

Southwind Airlines is a Turkish leisure airline founded in April 2022 by Cortex Havacılık ve Turizm Ticaret A.Ş. Flights to Russia commenced in August of that year, while Germany was added to its network a month later. The airline's main base and headquarters are in Antalya. The airline was banned from EU airspace in March 2024, but was lifted in December 2024.

Quick Facts IATA, ICAO ...
Southwind Airlines
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Southwind Airlines 737-8 in standard livery
IATA ICAO Call sign
2S STW MOON STAR
FoundedApril 2022; 3 years ago (2022-04)
HubsAntalya Airport
Fleet size12
Destinations20
HeadquartersAntalya, Turkey
Key peopleŞükrü Can (CEO)
Websitesouthwindairlines.com
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History

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Foundation

Southwind Airlines was formally announced in April 2022, based out of Antalya, Turkey. The airline aims to prevent the loss of Russian tourists coming to Turkey following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1] The airline received preclearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation in June of that year.[2] The first commercial flight was flown to Perm on 12 August.[3]

Charter flights to Germany commenced in September 2022.[4] In February 2023, the airline announced plans to carry tourists to Antalya from 16 Russian cities during the summer season.[5] The number of aircraft in the fleet is expected to be 14 by the end of 2023.[6]

In July 2024, Southwind Airlines has joined IATA.[7]

EU airspace ban and lifting

On 25 March 2024, Southwind Airlines was banned by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency from operating flights to Finland. According to the agency, Southwind Airlines is a de facto Russian airline attempting to circumvent European Union sanctions against Russia, imposed in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.[8]

Following the Finnish assessment, the airline was banned on 28 March 2024 from the entire EU airspace, subject to regulation No 833/2014.[9] The airline was to begin flights under its own brand to several airports in the United Kingdom in summer 2024 as well, which however were all subsequently also cancelled.[10] Shortly after, Switzerland formally banned the airline as well.[11]

However, in the next publication on December 13 2024, Southwind Airlines was removed from the List.[12] The reason for this is still unknown.

Destinations

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Southwind Airlines operates flights to the following destinations:[citation needed]

More information Country, City ...
Country City Airport Notes Refs
BahrainManamaBahrain International Airport
BelarusMinskMinsk National AirportSuspended[13]
GermanyBerlinBerlin Brandenburg Airportbanned in EU airspace
DüsseldorfDüsseldorf Airportbanned in EU airspace
HamburgHamburg Airportbanned in EU airspace
HanoverHannover Airportbanned in EU airspace
LeipzigLeipzig/Halle Airportbanned in EU airspace
MunichMunich Airportbanned in EU airspace
NurembergNuremberg Airportbanned in EU airspace
StuttgartStuttgart Airportbanned in EU airspace
GreeceHeraklionHeraklion International Airportbanned in EU airspace
IsraelTel AvivBen Gurion AirportTerminated
ItalyBergamoOrio al Serio International Airportbanned in EU airspace
KazakhstanAstanaNursultan Nazarbayev International Airport[14]
LebanonBeirutBeirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport
MoldovaChișinăuChișinău International AirportTerminated[15]
North MacedoniaSkopjeSkopje International Airport
RussiaArkhangelskTalagi AirportSeasonal charter[16][17]
IrkutskInternational Airport Irkutsk
KaliningradKhrabrovo Airport[18]
KazanĞabdulla Tuqay Kazan International Airport[19]
KrasnoyarskKrasnoyarsk International Airport[19]
MoscowSheremetyevo International Airport[19][20]
Nizhny NovgorodStrigino International AirportResumes 3 June 2025[20]
NovosibirskTolmachevo Airport
OrenburgOrenburg Airport
PermBolshoye Savino AirportSeasonal charter[21]
Saint PetersburgPulkovo Airport[19]
SamaraKurumoch International Airport
SaratovSaratov Gagarin Airport[20]
SochiSochi International AirportSeasonal charter
UfaMustai Karim Ufa International Airport
VolgogradGumrak Airport[22]
YekaterinburgKoltsovo International Airport
SwitzerlandZürichZurich Airportbanned in EU and Swiss airspace
Switzerland
France
Germany
Basel
Mulhouse
Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburgbanned in EU and Swiss airspace
TurkeyAntalyaAntalya AirportHub[19][20]
DalamanDalaman AirportSeasonal charter[20]
IstanbulIstanbul Airport[23][24]
TrabzonTrabzon Airport
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Fleet

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Southwind Airbus A330-200
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Southwind Boeing 737 MAX 8

As of April 2024, Southwind Airlines operates the following aircraft:[25]

More information Aircraft, In service ...
Southwind Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A321-200 2 220
Airbus A321neo 1 240
Airbus A330-200 2 345
Boeing 737 MAX 8 3 189
Boeing 777-300 3 550 Highest density 777s in the world.
Boeing 777-300ER 1 531
Total 12
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References

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