Leipzig/Halle Airport is losing an important international flight connection: Turkish Airlines is discontinuing its flights between Leipzig and Istanbul as of May 2. This was confirmed by a spokesperson for Mitteldeutsche Flughafen AG on request. The newspaper "Leipziger Volksstimme" had previously reported this. The airline cited the consequences of the Iran conflict as the reason, which has recently caused kerosene prices to rise sharply and put additional pressure on the industry. The connection had been in place since 2012 and had been "very well received", said airport spokesperson Uwe Schuhart. The decision is a setback for the location. At the same time, the airline emphasizes that it has not given up on Leipzig/Halle in the long term. The company expressly does not rule out a return and points out that the region continues to be an important market. The airline will rebook affected passengers. According to previous information, Turkish Airlines is primarily referring to Berlin-Brandenburg Airport as an alternative. The withdrawal is part of a series of cutbacks in the aviation industry. Just recently, Lufthansa announced that it would be shutting down its regional subsidiary Cityline and taking older aircraft out of service. The Group also cited high kerosene prices and increased costs as reasons for this. According to industry estimates, the situation is getting worse. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently warned of possible flight cancellations in Europe as a result of kerosene shortages. This means that the cuts to services at Leipzig/Halle Airport are intensifying. Following the discontinuation of the Lufthansa connection to Munich, the direct connection to the international hub in Istanbul is now also being discontinued. Numerous destinations in Asia, Africa and the Middle East were previously accessible from there. Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reservedConflict drives up costs
Passengers to be rebooked
Industry under pressure
Fewer connections from Leipzig/Halle
