All Turkish Airlines repatriation flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town have been loaded into the GDSs, allowing agents to quote and book these flights themselves. It is now also possible to book connecting flights to and from multiple destinations in the Turkish Airlines network.
The Istanbul-Johannesburg-Istanbul repatriation flights depart on September 20 and the Istanbul-Cape Town-Istanbul flights depart on September 24. All other flights in the GDS to and from South Africa are scheduled flights. The borders are still closed and Turkish Airlines has cautioned agents to be careful and not book these scheduled flights.
The following repatriation flight rules and conditions apply:
- Unaccompanied minors (under 12 years) are not allowed on repatriation flights.
- It is possible to issue roundtrip fares for Johannesburg and beyond. In this instance the outbound flight from Johannesburg or Cape Town will be the repatriation flight and the return flight will be a commercial flight. The entire booking must be made with the same booking code (RBD). Roundtrip tickets will allow one free change. The return flight must be used within six months for economy-class tickets and within 12 months for business class.
- Commission is not provided for repatriation flights but an incentive of R1 000 for outbound tickets and R500 for inbound tickets is available.
- In the event of a long layover and overnight in Istanbul, Turkish Airlines provides free hotel accommodation in the city, with free airport-hotel transfers. Visas to enter Turkey will be the responsibility of the passengers. Passengers need to clear passport control and then proceed to the Turkish Airlines Hotel Desk. There is no need to collect luggage as it will be checked on to the final destination. No unaccompanied passengers under 18 years of age will be allowed to make use of the STPC offer.
- Passengers who are not allowed to enter Istanbul can stay at the airport for a maximum of 48 hours in transit.
- Turkish Airlines does not require a COVID-19 test for passengers to fly with the airline or to transit in Istanbul Airport. It is the responsibility of passengers to check final destination requirements and restrictions.
- All passengers should have DIRCO approval for inbound flights, otherwise passengers will not be accepted on the flights according to South African regulations.
- Passengers departing from Johannesburg need to present a health form when screened upon entering OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airport.
- Passengers arriving in South Africa must follow SA quarantine regulations. See https://selfquarantine.silveraxiom.com/
- Please email copies of passport, booking forms and visa type and number to igarnett@thy.com for each ticketed passenger.
- Regardless of the destination, the following information needs to be inserted into the booking – client phone number, email, date of birth and APIS entries.
