Glasgow-based airline Loganair has signed a partnership agreement with international operator Turkish Airlines, the national flag carrier airline of Turkey.

The interline agreement allows customers in the Loganair Highlands and Islands network to book one ticket, via their travel agent, to multi long-haul destinations when connecting through Edinburgh Airport, saving on air passenger duty charges of up to £78.

Kay Ryan, Loganair commercial director, said: "This is a deal with one of the biggest names in international air travel, and we see it as the start of a partnership that will develop into a full codeshare agreement later in the year.”

Gokhan Haciibrahimoglu, general manager of Turkish Airlines Scotland, said: “Our partnership will allow both of our passengers to easily connect with the regional airports of north and west Scotland to over 304 destinations and 122 countries.”

It is claimed Turkish Airlines is the largest carrier in the world by number of destinations.

The move is the latest in Loganair’s Better Connected programme, which aims to provide the Scottish airline’s key destinations with a wide range of links and also to help business and tourism visitors have quicker booking and ease of access.

Deals have already been signed with Air France, Dutch giants KLM, Emirates, Thomas Cook Airlines, and customers can through-ticket and through-check baggage where flights connect at Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness and Norwich.

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The partnerships with KLM and Air France allow passengers from all Loganair’s Highlands and Islands destinations to travel via Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Inverness onto KLM flights to Amsterdam and from there to destinations worldwide; and via Aberdeen and Edinburgh to Air France flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle and again onwards to destinations worldwide.