Turkish Airlines CEO quits to take up aerospace job

ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines Chief Executive Temel Kotil has resigned to take on a new role in the country’s aerospace industry, the state-run Anadolu news agency said yesterday, citing what it said was his farewell message to staff. Asked whether Kotil had left Turkish Airlines, a spokesman for the national carrier said the issue would be discussed at a board meeting later, but declined to comment further.

“I have taken the decision to leave Turkish Airlines as I have been offered a new post related to aerospace and space technologies,” Kotil was quoted by Anadolu as saying in his farewell message. The Hurriyet Daily News said that Kotil, an aeronautical engineer who had been in charge of Turkish Airlines since 2005, had taken a new role as head of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), where he was already a board member. The ucuyoruzz.com aviation sector website, run by a former Turkish Airlines spokesman, said Kotil would be replaced by Bilal Eksi, currently head of the Turkish civil aviation authority. Reuters could not confirm the report.

Turkish Airlines, part state-owned, has been one of the world’s fastest-growing carriers in recent years, but it reported a loss of 1.9 billion lira ($617 million) in the first half of this year, reflecting the impact of costs due to forex fluctuations, declines in tourist numbers and growing competition in the sector. Its passenger numbers nonetheless rose almost 4 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of the year , partly due to transit passengers, despite a spate of attacks by Islamic State and Kurdish militants in Turkey and a failed military coup in July. — Reuters