Which airline was founded in 1933 as the national airline of Turkey?

Turkish Airlines was founded in 1933 as the national airline of Turkey.

The airline was established as State Airlines Administration under Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence. Its early network was modest and focused mainly on domestic routes, using a small fleet compared with the international carrier it would later become.

Turkish Airlines expanded internationally over the decades and eventually developed Istanbul into a major connecting hub between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Its modern name, Türk Hava Yolları, is commonly translated as Turkish Airlines.

The founding year is sometimes confused with the date of the airline’s first international route or its later corporatization. The key historical milestone is the creation of the state airline in 1933.