Southwind Airlines

Not to be confused with Southwest Airlines or Nordwind Airlines.

Southwind Airlines
Southwind Airlines 737-8 in standard livery
IATA ICAO Call sign
2S STW MOON STAR
FoundedApril 2022 (2022-04)
HubsAntalya Airport
Fleet size14
Destinations20
HeadquartersAntalya, Turkey
Key peopleŞükrü Can (CEO)
Websitesouthwindairlines.com

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.

History

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]

Destinations

Southwind Airlines operates flights to the following destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
Bahrain Manama Bahrain International Airport
Belarus Minsk Minsk National Airport Terminated [13]
Germany Berlin Berlin Brandenburg Airport Terminated
Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Airport Terminated
Hamburg Hamburg Airport Terminated
Hanover Hannover Airport Terminated
Leipzig Leipzig/Halle Airport Terminated
Munich Munich Airport Terminated
Nuremberg Nuremberg Airport Terminated
Stuttgart Stuttgart Airport Terminated
Greece Heraklion Heraklion International Airport Terminated
Israel Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport Terminated
Italy Bergamo Orio al Serio International Airport Terminated
Kazakhstan Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport [14]
Lebanon Beirut Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport
Moldova Chișinău Chișinău International Airport Terminated [15]
North Macedonia Skopje Skopje International Airport Terminated
Russia Arkhangelsk Talagi Airport Seasonal charter [16][17]
Irkutsk International Airport Irkutsk Seasonal charter
Kaliningrad Khrabrovo Airport Terminated [18]
Kazan Ğabdulla Tuqay Kazan International Airport Seasonal charter [19]
Krasnodar Krasnodar International Airport Seasonal charter [20]
Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk International Airport [19]
Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport Seasonal charter [19][21][22]
Zhukovsky International Airport Seasonal charter [23][24]
Nizhny Novgorod Strigino International Airport Seasonal charter [21]
Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport Seasonal charter
Orenburg Orenburg Airport Seasonal charter
Perm Bolshoye Savino Airport Seasonal charter [25]
Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport Seasonal charter [19]
Samara Kurumoch International Airport Seasonal charter
Saratov Saratov Gagarin Airport Seasonal charter [21]
Sochi Sochi International Airport Seasonal charter
Ufa Mustai Karim Ufa International Airport Seasonal charter
Volgograd Gumrak Airport Seasonal charter [26]
Yekaterinburg Koltsovo International Airport Seasonal charter
Switzerland Zürich Zurich Airport Terminated
Switzerland
France
Germany		 Basel
Mulhouse
Freiburg		 EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Terminated
Turkey Antalya Antalya Airport Hub [19][21]
Bodrum Milas-Bodrum Airport Seasonal charter [22]
Dalaman Dalaman Airport Seasonal charter [21][22]
Istanbul Istanbul Airport [27][28]
Trabzon Trabzon Airport

Fleet

As of August 2025, Southwind Airlines operates the following aircraft:[29]

Southwind Airlines fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A321-200 4 — 220
Airbus A321neo 1 — 240
Airbus A330-200 2 — 353
Boeing 737 MAX 8 3 — 189
Boeing 777-300 3 — 550 Highest density 777s in the world.
Boeing 777-300ER 1 — 531
Total 14 —

See also

References

  1. ^ "Antalya merkezli yeni havayolu faaliyetlerine başlıyor". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 15 April 2022. Archived from the original on 10 August 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Southwind'e SHGM'den ön izin çıktı". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 7 June 2022. Archived from the original on 19 August 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Türkiye's Southwind launches flight ops". CH Aviation. 22 August 2022. Archived from the original on 30 January 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  4. ^ "Southwind Airlines Avrupa uçuşlarına başlıyor". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 23 September 2022. Archived from the original on 7 October 2022. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Southwind 16 şehirden Antalya'ya turist taşıyacak". AirportHaber (in Turkish). 27 February 2023. Archived from the original on 19 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  6. ^ "Turkish Newcomer Southwind Airlines To Triple Fleet In 2023". Aviation Week Network. 6 February 2023. Archived from the original on 2 March 2023. Retrieved 2 April 2023.
  7. ^ "Current Airline Members". www.iata.org. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Traficom will not allow Southwind Airlines flights to Finland". Finnish Transport and Communications Agency. 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ^ Eiselin, Stefan (28 March 2024). "EU verbannt Southwind Airlines aus Luftraum". aeroTELEGRAPH (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  10. ^ aeroroutes.com - SOUTHWIND AIRLINES NS24 UK SERVICE REVISION – 26MAR24 26 March 2024
  11. ^ aerotelegraph.com (German) 9 April 2024
  12. ^ "The EU Air Safety List - European Commission". transport.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  13. ^ "Турэцкая авіякампанія адмяніла палёты па маршруце Мінск - Стамбул". BelTA – News from Belarus, © Belarusian Telegraph Agency. 2 April 2024. Retrieved 2 April 2024.
  14. ^ "Southwind Airlines Adds Astana Service in NS24". AeroRoutes. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
  15. ^ "Trei companii aeriene de peste hotare lansează curse directe spre și dinspre Chișinău. Care sunt DESTINAȚIILE". www.ziarulnational.md. 9 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  16. ^ Данилов, Антон (11 July 2024). "Прямые перелеты из Архангельска в Турцию неожиданно отменили". 29.ру - новости Архангельска (in Russian). Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  17. ^ Вареник, Ярослав (20 January 2025). "Из Архангельска возобновят прямые рейсы в Турцию". 29.ру (in Russian). Сетевое издание «29.ру». Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  18. ^ "Лоукостер Southwind открыл продажу авиабилетов на прямые рейсы из Калининграда в Турцию". www.newkaliningrad.ru (in Russian). Новый Калининград.Ru. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  19. ^ a b c d e Liu, Jim (2 August 2024). "Southwind Airlines Aug – Oct 2024 Widebody Aircraft Network Overview". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Seasonal schedule". krr.aero. Krasnodar International Airport. Retrieved 18 September 2025.
  21. ^ a b c d e Liu, Jim. "Southwind airlines NS25 Russia Network Additions". aeroroutes.com. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 22 March 2025.
  22. ^ a b c Liu, Jim (8 May 2025). "Southwind Airlines Expands Türkiye – Moscow Network in NS25". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 8 May 2025.
  23. ^ Liu, Jim (22 July 2025). "Southwind Airlines Adds Antalya – Moscow Zhukovsky Service in NS25". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  24. ^ Liu, Jim (21 October 2025). "Southwind Adds Istanbul – Moscow Zhukovsky From late-Nov 2025". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  25. ^ Воробьева, Елена (7 October 2024). "Авиакомпания SouthWind продлила полетную программу из Перми в Турцию". ura.news (in Russian). Retrieved 7 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Из Волгограда в Турцию и Грецию с туроператором PEGAS Touristik!". Volgograd International Airport. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  27. ^ "Southwind Airlines Schedules Belarus mid-Dec 2023 Launch". AeroRoutes. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  28. ^ Liu, Jim (25 September 2024). "Southwind Airlines Adds Istanbul – Moscow From Nov 2024". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  29. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2025 - Southwind Airlines". Airliner World. September 2025. p. 77.

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