Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines has renamed eight of its planes after districts in Istanbul and Ankara that played a central role in suppressing the deadly failed coup attempt on July 15.
The move intended “to recognize the attitude that protected the country’s unity in the wake of the traitorous coup attempt on July 15,” according to a statement from the company.
Accordingly, the names of the Kazan and Gölbaşı districts in Ankara, where coup plotters killed civilians, soldiers and police officers, and the Beştepe neighborhood, where the presidential palace, another target of pro-coup soldiers, will be given to three planes. Five others will be named after the Istanbul neighborhoods of Saraçhane, Çengelköy, Kavacık, Acıbadem and Atışalanı.
At least 240 people were killed in the foiled putsch, with followers of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen believed to be behind the attempt.
The company, which flies to 289 destinations with a fleet of 323 aircraft, also said in a filing to the Istanbul stock exchange on Aug. 16 that the number of its passengers had increased to 35.9 million between January and July this year, marking a 4.4 point rise from the same period in 2015.
The increase stood at 5.9 percent in domestic lines and 3.2 percent in international destinations, the company said.