ISTANBUL- Turkish Airlines (TK), Turkey’s national flag carrier, has appointed Murat Şeker as Chairman of the Board and Ahmet Olmuştur as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 8, 2026, following the retirement of Ahmet Bolat and Bilal Ekşi.
The changes were disclosed in a filing to Turkey’s Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) after the airline’s Annual General Meeting held at its headquarters in Istanbul (IST).
The leadership overhaul arrives as Turkish Airlines (TK) reports strong operational performance, with passenger traffic rising 16% year-on-year to 7.2 million in March 2026 and first-quarter numbers climbing 12.7% to 21.3 million.
The transition marks a strategic shift toward disciplined growth and financial sustainability, led by two career insiders promoted from within.
Turkish Airlines Hires New Chairman and CEO
Murat Şeker succeeds Ahmet Bolat, who had led the airline for more than four years and resigned alongside CEO Bilal Ekşi and board member Prof. Mecit Es.
Şeker holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Minnesota and previously worked as an Economist at the World Bank’s Financial and Private Sector Development Vice Presidency between 2008 and 2013, contributing to policy reports on innovation, entrepreneurship, and international trade.
He has served as Turkish Airlines’ Chief Financial Officer since 2016 and was elected to the board in 2021.
Ahmet Olmuştur, the incoming CEO, was born in Istanbul in 1980 and began his career with Turkish Airlines (TK) in a part-time role at the airline’s call center in 2000.
He progressed through revenue management, pricing, global distribution systems, and commercial operations before rising to Chief Commercial Officer.
By 2024, he served as Deputy General Manager responsible for commercial activities, overseeing sales, network planning, and customer experience.
The airline has effectively installed a finance-focused chairman and a commercially experienced CEO, both drawn entirely from within the organization.
Turkish Airlines also announced that Metin Gülşen has been appointed as the new Chief Financial Officer and Harun Baştürk as the new Chief Commercial Officer, completing a full reset of the airline’s top executive team.
March 2026 Traffic Results
Turkish Airlines (TK) posted robust operational figures alongside the leadership announcement. Passenger traffic rose 16% year-on-year to 7.2 million in March 2026, up from 6.2 million in March 2025, while the passenger load factor rose 6.1 percentage points to 83.6%.
The international load factor increased 5.9 percentage points to 83.7%, while the domestic load factor rose 8 percentage points to 82.3%. Total available seat kilometers (ASK) increased 8.7% to 22.8 billion, compared to 20.9 billion in March 2025.
Cargo and mail volumes rose 8.8% to 198,300 tons from 182,200 tons a year earlier. As of the end of March 2026, the airline’s fleet expanded 11.9% year-on-year to 528 aircraft, compared with 472 a year earlier.
The airline introduced its 500th aircraft at the close of 2025, underscoring the pace of fleet growth under the previous leadership.
For the first quarter, the January-March passenger figure jumped 12.7% from a year ago to 21.3 million, with the first-quarter load factor marking a 2.9-point increase to 83.5%.
Political Context and the Circumstances Behind the Change
The leadership change carries political dimensions. The new chairman and CEO met with President Erdoğan at the presidential complex the day before the Annual General Meeting, with news of the appointments broken early by the Turkish National Olympic Committee, View from the Wing flagged.
Turkish Airlines is over 49% owned by the government and operates as a national carrier, making senior appointments subject to government influence.
The outgoing leadership had delivered strong financial results. The airline recorded an operating profit of $2.2 billion on $24 billion in revenue in 2025, with no known operational scandal cited as a trigger for the change.
The airline is now shifting its focus to disciplined growth, profitability, and resilience after a period of rapid expansion. Şeker’s appointment is interpreted as a shift toward a management approach focused on financial sustainability.
A Global Wave of Airline CEO Departures in 2025-2026
The Turkish Airlines (TK) leadership change is part of a broader pattern of executive turnover across global carriers. Several major airlines have seen CEO transitions in recent months:
- IndiGo’s (6E) Pieter Elbers resigned effective March 10, 2026, with Willie Walsh appointed CEO on March 31, 2026.
- Air India’s (AI) Campbell Wilson resigned on April 7, 2026.
- Frontier Airlines (F9) saw Barry Biffle depart on December 15, 2025, with James Dempsey named permanent CEO on January 8, 2026
- Virgin Atlantic (VS) transitioned from Shai Weiss to Corneel Koster as CEO on January 1, 2026.
- Qatar Airways Group (QR) appointed Hamad Ali Al-Khater as Group CEO effective December 7, 2025, succeeding Badr Mohammed Al-Meer.
- Avianca (AV) named Gabriel Oliva as president after Frederico Pedreira stepped down on February 28, 2026.
- Malaysia Aviation Group’s (MH) Captain Nasaruddin A. Bakar becoming President and Group CEO after Captain Izham Ismail retired on January 31, 2026
- Eurowings (EW) appointing Max Kownatzki as CEO on February 1, 2026; SunExpress (XQ) naming Marcus Schnabel CEO on February 1, 2026
- Transavia (HV) naming Paul Terstegge CEO effective February 1, 2026; airBaltic (BT) transitioning to Erno Hildén effective December 1, 2025
- Air Europa (UX) appointing Richard Clark effective November 18, 2025
- All Nippon Airways (NH) appointing Juichi Hirasawa as President and CEO on April 1, 2026
- Flair Airlines (F8) naming Len Corrado CEO effective February 9, 2026
- Air Niugini (PX) appointing Alan Milne effective February 16, 2026
- Air Tahiti Nui (TN) naming Lionel Guérin CEO effective February 11, 2026
- Cape Air naming Mike Migliore President and CEO on March 13, 2026
- Air Canada (AC) CEO Michael Rousseau set to leave at the end of the third quarter of 2026.
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