Türkiye and the Philippines have signed a new aviation agreement that will allow weekly passenger flights between Istanbul and Manila to double, according to a statement from Türkiye's aviation authority.
The memorandum of understanding was signed following talks in Istanbul between Türkiye's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Philippines' Civil Aviation Authority. The two sides met on Thursday.
Frequencies and route rights
Under the agreement, airlines gain seven additional weekly flight frequencies on the Istanbul-Manila route, where carriers currently operate seven scheduled passenger flights per week. That takes the permitted total to 14 weekly frequencies, doubling the existing service.
For services between destinations other than Istanbul and Manila, airlines receive unlimited frequency rights. According to the aviation authority, the provision gives carriers more flexibility to expand the air network and add new destinations between the two countries.
The agreement also permits airlines to conduct co-terminalization operations, provided they do not exercise cabotage rights.
Tourism and trade ties
The deal is expected to support passenger transportation between Türkiye and the Philippines while strengthening tourism, trade and economic ties and diversifying air connections between the two countries.
The two sides plan to continue meeting as market conditions develop and passenger demand increases. They also expressed a shared willingness to continue negotiations on the gradual expansion of traffic rights.
Türkiye's aviation authority reiterated its commitment to international cooperation aimed at strengthening the country's position in the global air transport network and expanding Turkish carriers' access to international markets.
Why it matters
The agreement hands carriers serving the Istanbul-Manila corridor a clear capacity signal: permitted weekly frequencies on the trunk route double from seven to 14, while every other city pair between the two countries moves to unlimited frequency rights. For network planners, that combination removes the two most common constraints on secondary-route growth — frequency caps and the need to route traffic through a single gateway.
For tour operators and DMCs, the immediate read is supply. Doubling the Istanbul-Manila frequency ceiling creates room for additional seats on a long-haul route that also feeds onward connections, and unlimited rights beyond the two capitals open the possibility of new non-Istanbul points in Türkiye and new Philippine destinations. Co-terminalization rights add further routing flexibility, though the cabotage exclusion keeps domestic-only flying off the table.
Both sides framed the deal around tourism, trade and economic ties, and said they would keep meeting as market conditions and passenger demand develop, with a shared willingness to negotiate gradual expansion of traffic rights. That language points to an incremental approach rather than a one-off liberalisation: the framework is designed to be revisited, so further rights could follow if demand materialises. Until carriers actually file for the additional frequencies, the practical effect on seat capacity and pricing will depend on how quickly airlines deploy them.
