Emirates Airlines is to increase services to Istanbul with daily Airbus A330-200 flights to Sabiha Gokcen International Airport from 15 December.

The A330-200 will provide 24 tonnes of capacity each way, offering customers an additional 168 tonnes a week. Flight EK119 will leave Dubai at 17.15h and land in Istanbul at 20.15h. The return flight, EK120 will leave Istanbul at 22.05h and arrive in Dubai at 04.20h the following day.

Emirates SkyCargo senior vice president, Nabil Sultan says: “Our cargo customers are increasingly looking for ways to ship their goods across the world at a faster pace.”

“The introduction of service to Sabiha Gokcen not only provides an additional gateway for our customers in Turkey, but it also provides quicker access to shipping lanes for businesses located in Eastern Istanbul.”

Emirates already flies to Istanbul’s other airport, Ataturk International Airport 11 times a week using a Boeing 777-300 Extended Range. The airline says the Sabiha Gokcen service will save businesses in Eastern Istanbul at least an hour by road as they will not have to drive across Istanbul’s congested streets.