Turkish carrier Inter Airlines, based in Antalya, has become the latest small airline to fold. According to an article today on Flight International, Inter Airlines has ceased operations, and plans to return the three Airbus A321s in its fleet. The article went on to say that the airline laid off 49 workers last month, and continued yesterday with 90 pilots, cabin crew and technicians.Just last month, the Turkish publication Today's Zaman ran an interesting article about the outlook for Turkey's aviation industry. In what now seems a prophetic statement in light of today's news, the article quoted Inter Airlines CEO, Ömer Torosluoğlu, who predicted that up to half of Turkey's 16 private airlines might fail, saying, "Only those companies that can find additional financing will survive. The fast loss of value in the Turkish lira against the dollar might also cause big losses on domestic lines."
Inter Airlines had operated domestic passenger service within Turkey, as well as international service to a number of destinations in Belgium, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.
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