April 17, 2021 / Turkey’s national carrier Turkish Airlines (TK) resumed Boeing 737 MAX operations following the Country’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation decision to recertify the type, as TC-LCA (in the photo) took-off from Istanbul (IST) to Ankara (ESB) with 96 passengers onboard on April 15, 2021. TK’s CEO, Bilal Eksi, was among those onboard.

According to planespotters.net, the airline has 11 737 MAX 8 in its fleet, 10 of which are parked at Istanbul Ataturk (ISL) and Istanbul airports. Before the Covid pandemic onset, Turkish Airlines had been by far the European second-largest customer of the MAX, after Ryanair, with 75 on order. Aircraft feature either a dual-cabin interior with 16 seats in Business Class and 135 in Economy for a total of 151 seats, or a single cabin in a 165-seat configuration.

According to an official note published by the airline on April 15, TK and Boeing reached an agreement to revise the order: 10 out of those 75 aircraft will be cancelled and 40 will be converted into options until December 2021, leaving Boeing with just 25 firm orders. “The delivery of the already-built 13 MAXs in Turkish livery has been recheduled in line with the operational and financial capacity of our incorporation”, a Turkish Airlines’ statement reported. (Photo Wikimedia Commons / Anna Zvereva)