A spokeswoman for British Airways said that the route announcement had been a long time coming and was not connected to Thomas Cook's failure. But its collapse has seen airlines exploring how they can replace Thomas Cook's capacity to holiday destinations or buy its slots at airports like Gatwick or Manchester.
Turkey's Tourism Minister said last month that easyJet and Dart Group's Jet2.com would join BA in boosting their flight numbers to Turkey, adding that Turkey will be able to make up for the shortfall in tourist numbers after Thomas Cook's failure. EasyJet Chief Executive Johan Lundgren has said the airline is looking at Thomas Cook's assets, although it is not interested in buying Condor, Thomas Cook's German airline, which is still operating and has been offered a bridging loan by the German government.