A GLOBAL airline giant has named Glasgow Airport in its expansion plans.

Turkish Airlines, the world's largest airline by countries served, said Glasgow is among future new United Kingdom connections.

The airline, which serves 128 countries, with 291 international destinations and 363 cargo destinations, named Newcastle as a second new UK route.

The airline's investor presentation said the national flag carrier of Turkey surpassed its 2019 capacity level by 24% in August 2023.

The Gazette: The airline also named Newcastle as part of its Europe expansionThe airline also named Newcastle as part of its Europe expansion (Image: Turkish Airlines)

Turkish Airlines said future routes also include, in the US, Detroit, Denver and Orlando, and, in Europe, Bergen, Katowice and Nantes.

It is unclear at this stage which routes would be linked with Glasgow in the arrangement.

It comes after the success of its Edinburgh connection, which was Scotland's first direct service to Istanbul when it launched in 2012.

Turkish Airlines said: "During the pandemic, we continued to invest in our fleet and workforce while preserving our unit cost advantage.

"Doing so, allowed us to capitalize on surging passenger demand and capture significant market share profitably."

A Glasgow Airport spokesperson: “We speak regularly with airlines about bringing more routes and services to Glasgow.”