SunExpress is in the middle of a quiet revolution. Best known for shuttling European holidaymakers to Antalya and Izmir, the Turkish German leisure carrier is now pouring capacity into lesser known corners of Anatolia and the Aegean. The result is a growing web of new routes that bypass Istanbul, plug regional European airports directly into secondary Turkish cities and make it easier than ever to reach places that once required a tiring combination of domestic hops and long road transfers. For travelers who feel they have already “done” Turkey, these flights are unlocking a new generation of hidden gems.
From Beach Shuttle to Network Builder
SunExpress, the joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, has traditionally been associated with sun and sea. Its core business has long been high frequency links from German speaking markets to Antalya and Izmir, feeding Europe’s demand for package holidays on the Turkish Riviera. In recent years it has been voted among Europe’s best leisure airlines, a sign of both scale and consistency as mainstream holiday traffic rebounded after the pandemic.
That foundation is now supporting a more ambitious strategy. SunExpress has expanded to a fleet of around 85 aircraft and, according to its latest performance updates, has been adding double digit numbers of new routes in a single summer season. The airline has been explicit that future growth will not come only from piling more capacity into the same resort pairings, but from widening its map across Turkey and deepening its presence in key overseas markets such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Germany.
This shift matters for travelers because it changes the shape of access to Turkey. Instead of thinking in terms of one or two big gateways, visitors can now fly non stop from regional cities into regional Turkish airports. What might once have been a two stop itinerary via Istanbul and Ankara can turn into a single flight from Cologne to Anatolia or from Cork to the Aegean coast, with all the time savings and spontaneity that implies.
New UK and Ireland Routes: Sun, Golf and Something More
One of the most visible fronts in the SunExpress expansion has been the British Isles. After quietly building a presence from Edinburgh, the airline has accelerated its plans, adding new UK airports and boosting frequencies on existing routes. Announced schedules for 2025 include additional services from London Stansted, new flights from Liverpool and Glasgow to Antalya and Dalaman, and increased capacity from Scotland to the Turquoise Coast as confidence in outbound travel returns.
These routes certainly serve classic resort traffic, but they also signal a broadening of Turkey’s appeal. A growing share of British and Irish passengers are combining time in established resorts with side trips to lesser known towns and interior regions. Direct flights into Antalya, Izmir and Dalaman provide convenient springboards for road journeys into the Taurus Mountains, the lake district around Burdur and Isparta, or the remote coves of the Datça and Bozburun peninsulas that still feel far removed from mass tourism.
Ireland is part of this story too. Cork Airport has secured a new summer service to Izmir, due to run from late May through October in the 2025 season. For travelers from the south of Ireland, this avoids a trek to Dublin and opens up Turkey’s North Aegean and central Aegean coasts as easy long weekend options. Once in Izmir, visitors are within comfortable reach of seaside Çeşme, the vineyard routes around Urla and the classical sites that dot the backroads inland.
Cologne/Bonn and the German Gateway to Anatolia
If the UK and Ireland are the most talked about growth markets, Germany remains the backbone of the SunExpress network, and it is from here that some of the most interesting new Turkish destinations are being plugged into Europe. In February 2026 Cologne Bonn Airport announced that SunExpress would significantly expand its summer schedule, offering up to 78 weekly flights to Turkey. Antalya alone will see as many as seven daily departures, but the real story lies further east.
In addition to more flights to Antalya, Izmir and Dalaman, SunExpress is adding three new destinations from Cologne Bonn that move well beyond the usual coastal suspects. Trabzon on the Black Sea, Çukurova Airport near Adana on the eastern Mediterranean and Elazığ in Eastern Anatolia will all receive direct links. For travelers in western Germany, this effectively shortens the distance to mountain plateaus, monastic valleys and fertile plains that until now have barely registered on European tourism radars.
The partnership between SunExpress and Eurowings has helped accelerate this connectivity. A codeshare arrangement has seen new routes launched from Cologne, Düsseldorf and Stuttgart to Anatolian airports including Samsun, Kayseri and the new Çukurova gateway. Some SunExpress operated flights to Antalya also carry Eurowings flight numbers, making it easier for travelers who search via German low cost carriers to stumble upon Turkey’s emerging destinations.
Expanding the Domestic Web: Mus and the New East
SunExpress is not only flying more people into Turkey, it is also redistributing them once they arrive. The airline is investing in new domestic routes that connect its hubs in Antalya and Izmir to provincial cities across the country, a move that is expanding the network far beyond the traditional Istanbul centric model. This domestic build out is particularly visible in Eastern Anatolia, where recent launches include flights from both Antalya and Izmir to Mus, a provincial capital little known outside Turkey.
Mus sits amid broad plains framed by distant mountains, with springtime tulip fields and the quiet beauty of Lake Mus nearby. The city itself is modest, but for travelers it functions as a low key base for exploring highland villages, rural markets and untouristed hiking routes. By inaugurating routes from two major coastal hubs to Mus, SunExpress has turned what was once a complex journey into a manageable domestic hop, with no need to backtrack through Istanbul.
The winter schedule for 2024 and 2025 adds further pieces to this puzzle. New domestic services from Antalya and Izmir to cities such as Bursa, Erzurum, Sanliurfa, Elazig, Nevsehir and Sivas are knitting the country together. For international visitors, these flights effectively extend the reach of a single ticket. Land in Antalya from Glasgow or Liverpool, and a same day connection can whisk you to snow covered plateaus for skiing, to ancient Mesopotamian heritage sites along the Euphrates, or to the heart of Cappadocia without ever seeing the inside of Istanbul Airport.
Black Sea and Anatolian Cities Step Into the Spotlight
Many of the new routes SunExpress is opening up share one thing in common. They bypass the headline grabbing coasts in favor of cities that, until recently, were more associated with migrant traffic and visiting friends and relatives than with international leisure travel. Yet destinations like Samsun, Trabzon, Kayseri and Elazig are rich in landscapes and cultural layers that reward curious travelers.
Trabzon on the northeastern Black Sea, newly connected to Cologne Bonn, is a case in point. The city has long been a gateway to the emerald green hills of the Pontic Mountains and the famed Sumela Monastery, which clings to a cliff face above a deep valley. Short drives from the city lead to misty high pastures, traditional wooden villages and lakeside walks that feel worlds away from the beach resorts of the south.
Further inland, Kayseri has been linked to Germany through the Eurowings SunExpress partnership. While many passengers will continue by road to Cappadocia, Kayseri itself is an underrated city with Seljuk architecture, a thriving bazaar and access to skiing on Mount Erciyes. Elazig, another of the new names on European departure boards, offers lake scenery, vineyards and proximity to historic towns like Harput that still see few foreign visitors.
Çukurova and the New Mediterranean Hub
A particularly intriguing newcomer is Çukurova Airport, serving the Adana and Mersin region in southern Turkey. Built to handle rising demand in one of the country’s most productive agricultural basins, the airport is now being woven into the SunExpress network from both Germany and within Turkey. Flights from Cologne Bonn and domestic connections from Çukurova to cities such as Bursa, Samsun, Trabzon and Van mark the region’s emergence as a hub in its own right.
For travelers this opens up an alternative way to experience the Mediterranean. Instead of the hotel lined promenades of Antalya or Alanya, Çukurova offers a softer tourism footprint. The long beaches near Mersin, the ancient harbor of Kizkalesi with its offshore castle and the citrus groves that stretch inland convey a different mood, more local and less scripted. Inland, the Taurus Mountains rise quickly from the coastal plain, hiding canyons, ruined fortresses and traditional villages where tourism is still a secondary concern.
By linking Çukurova not only to Germany but also to Anatolian cities on the Black Sea and in the east, SunExpress is encouraging multi stop itineraries that knit together different Turkish regions. A traveler could, for example, fly from Stuttgart to Çukurova, spend a few days by the sea, then hop to Van for high mountain lake landscapes, before returning from Antalya to the original European gateway. These patterns hint at a more nuanced, countrywide perception of Turkey in the minds of visitors.
Izmir and the North Aegean Beyond the Beach
Izmir has long been a favorite for travelers seeking a more cosmopolitan Aegean experience, with its seafront promenades, cafe culture and access to resorts like Çeşme and Kuşadası. New international links, such as the soon to launch service from Cork, add to existing connections from Scotland and continental Europe, nudging the city further into the mainstream. Yet the real opportunity created by additional capacity into Izmir lies in what surrounds it.
Within a short radius of the city are wine routes, olive groves and small towns that have so far managed to fly below the radar. The Urla Peninsula, dotted with vineyards and farm to table restaurants, has become popular with Izmir’s residents but remains little known to foreign visitors. North of Izmir, the quieter stretches of the Aegean around Dikili, Ayvalik and the Gulf of Edremit combine traditional architecture, offshore islands and pine forested hills that invite slow exploration.
Further inland, new domestic services from Izmir to Anatolian cities like Nevsehir and Sivas effectively turn the Aegean into a western gateway for journeys across the country. For travelers, this allows for itineraries that combine time in a coastal city with a loop through central Anatolia and back, without the need to cross Istanbul’s enormous hub. As frequencies grow, the flexibility of such trips should improve, giving travelers more chances to improvise as they go.
What This Means for Travelers Seeking Turkey’s Hidden Gems
For all the talk of capacity and schedules, the human impact of SunExpress’s new routes is simple. Places that once felt too remote, too complicated or too little known for a holiday are suddenly within easy reach of regional airports across Europe. A Scottish family can fly directly to Antalya from Glasgow and transfer domestically to Eastern Anatolia in a single day. Travelers from western Germany can board a morning flight from Cologne and find themselves by evening in a Black Sea town that previously required multiple connections.
This new connectivity does not guarantee that off the beaten path destinations will stay that way. Increased access brings both opportunity and pressure. But in the short term it offers curious visitors a chance to experience regions of Turkey where traditional culture remains strong and the tourism industry is still locally owned and relatively small scale. The challenge will be to approach these places with sensitivity, supporting businesses that contribute to the community and spreading travel across seasons to avoid sudden spikes in demand.
For those who felt they had missed the moment with Turkey, who visited once in the early days of cheap flights and watched as their favorite coves filled with all inclusive hotels, SunExpress’s evolving map suggests a second chance. The country is far larger and more varied than its handful of famous resorts, and the airline’s growing web of domestic and international routes is finally aligning with that reality. With a little curiosity and willingness to look beyond the first name on the departures board, travelers can use these new connections to unlock a Turkey that still feels refreshingly undiscovered.