Turkish Airlines has placed an order for a further 10 Cessna Skyhawk aircraft to train future fleet pilots at the carrier’s flight academy.
On April 23, 2026, Cessna’s owner Textron Aviation confirmed a signed purchase agreement from Turkish Airlines Flight Academy at the second day of AERO Friedrichshafen in Germany.
According to Textron Aviation, Turkish Airlines Flight Academy already operates 66 Cessna Skyhawk aircraft, making it one of the largest Skyhawk training fleets in the region.
Deliveries of the new aircraft are expected to begin this year as Turkish Airlines looks to expand its training fleet to support growing airline pilot demand across Europe.
“The Cessna Skyhawk continues to set the standard for flight training worldwide, offering the reliability, performance and operating efficiency flight schools depend on,” said Lannie O’Bannion, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Textron Aviation. “This order reflects Turkish Airlines Flight Academy’s confidence in the Skyhawk as it continues to scale its training capacity to meet long‑term pilot demand.”
Turkish Airlines Flight Academy has steadily expanded its Skyhawk fleet, taking delivery of 51 aircraft during the past five years
As well as the Cessna Skyhawk, Turkish Airlines Flight Academy trains the next generation of pilots using a fleet of Diamond DA40 and DA42 aircraft.
Founded in 2013, Turkish Airlines Flight Academy is based in Aydin, Turkey, and operates as a wholly owned flight training organization of Turkish Airlines.
The academy trains pilots for Turkish Airlines and other regional carriers, playing a central role in developing a long‑term commercial pilot pipeline.
On the opening day of AERO Friedrichshafe, Textron also announced that German private jet operator LUMINAIR had placed an order for nine Cessna Citation Latitude executive aircraft.
The first aircraft is scheduled to join in late 2026, with the remaining eight expected to deliver through 2027.
