Turkish Airlines starts two new routes today, from its hub at Mustafa Kemal Atatürk International Airport (IATA: IST; ICAO: LTBA) in Istanbul. The newest destinations in the Turkish national airline's network are the Iraqi city of Basra, and the Italian city of Naples. The Istanbul-Basra route will operate through Basra International Airport (IATA: BSR; ICAO: ORMM) in southern Iraq. The Istanbul-Naples route will operate through Ugo Niutta Airport (IATA: NAP; ICAO: LIRN) on the Gulf of Naples and the Tyrrhenian Sea.
The Istanbul-Basra non-stop will operate in both directions three times a week, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. It is 3 hours 15 minutes long southeast-bound, and is 3 hours 25 minutes long northwest-bound. It will be flown with the Boeing 737-800, according to search results returned by the airline ticket booking engine at www.kayak.com/flights. The Istanbul-Naples non-stop will operate in both directions three times a week, on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday. It is 2 hours 25 minutes long westbound, and is 2 hours 15 minutes long eastbound. It will be flown with the Airbus A319, according to www.kayak.com.
Georgian national airline Airzena Georgian Airways also started a new seasonal route. The airline will fly non-stop between the Georgian town of Batumi (IATA: BUS; ICAO: UGSB) on the Black Sea, to Moscow, the Russian capital (IATA: DME; ICAO: UUDD). According to Bloomberg, these will be "weekly charter flights," and will operate until October.
Two airlines based in Scandinavia also added new routes within the last day. The largest airline based in the region, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), launched service between Oslo's Gardermoen Airport (IATA: OSL; ICAO: ENGM) and the Croatian seaside (Adriatic) town of Split (IATA: SPU; ICAO: LDSP). This route will run three times a week, on Monday, Friday, and Saturday, according to Kayak. Oslo, a city of 605,000 people, was found to be the world's most expensive city, by the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. Split, a city of 230,000 people, is the largest city in the Croatian region of Dalmatia, namesake of the Dalmatian canine breed.
Scandinavian Airlines also launched two services between Scandinavia and the Spanish capital city, Madrid. One route will fly between Gardermoen Airport and Barajas Airport (IATA: MAD; ICAO: LEMD) in central Spain. This route will operate two times a week, on Tuesday and Saturday, according to Kayak. The other will fly between Arlanda Airport in Stockholm (IATA: ARN; ICAO: ESSA) and the Spanish capital twice weekly, on Monday and Friday.
Also, budget carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle has commenced non-stop service between Gardermoen Airport and two destinations in the Balkans. Those are Sarajevo (IATA: SJJ; ICAO: LQSA) and Pristina (IATA: PRN; ICAO: BKPR). According to search results from Norwegian Air Shuttle's website, the Oslo-Sarajevo route will be flown twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday in both directions. According to the same source, the Oslo-Pristina route will be flown twice weekly, on Monday and Friday in both directions.
Like many low-fare carriers, Norwegian Air Shuttle operates only one model of aircraft. The route will be flown with some variant of the Boeing 737, either the -300 or the -800.
original stories
Turkish Airlines announces its first flights to Al Basrah (Iraq) and Naples (Italy) (Turkish Airlines)
New flight Batumi - Moscow - Batumi starting from 21 June, 11 (Airzena Georgian Airways)
Georgian Airline Begins First Direct Batumi Flights to Moscow (Bloomberg)
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Thursday, June 30, 2011 at 12:57AM 
A large group of diamondback terrapins stopped takeoffs at New York's Kennedy International Airport (IATA: JFK; ICAO: KJFK) yesterday morning. The turtles' annual summer migration route runs from Jamaica Bay (which borders Kennedy International to the south) to a nearby beach, where they lay their eggs. They attempted to cross runway 4L/22R en route to the beach.
