Turkey Has No Plans To Privatise Stake In Turkish Airlines

The Turkish government does not plan at present to sell a further stake in state-run Turkish Airlines, Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Thursday.

The government controls 49 per cent of Turkish Airlines, Europe’s fourth-biggest carrier, and has in past years said it would consider holding an additional public offering.

Fifty-one per cent of Turkish Airlines is traded on the Istanbul stock exchange.

“Privatising Turkish Airlines is not on our agenda,” Simsek told reporters on the sidelines of a finance summit. “We have had consultancy work done, but the aim of that was to follow developments in the aviation sector.”

Turkey has generated several billion dollars in privatisation revenues this year, driven mainly by sales in the energy sector.