Celebration Ceremony of Honor of the Order of the Rising Sun

Posted on November 22 by Satoshi Katada

12 November

I Participated in the Celebration Ceremony of Honor of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon to Mr. Ilker Ayci, CEO of Turkish Airlines, held at the Cirgan Palace in Istanbul. I think the Japanese government has made a very good decision. Regarding aviation, I am quite dissatisfied with Japan. Japan says Turkey is an important partner, but Japanese airlines does not have a flight, even though airlines in almost every Asian country have Istanbul flights. Also, during this corona period, Turkish Airlines has maintained Japanese flights even when the number of passengers is less than 100, while Japan imposes strict immigration restrictions that do not make sense. Thanks to this, Japanese people stationed in Turkey are able to return to Japan without difficulty, and I am truly grateful for how helpful they were. During the Corona period, there were times when even Turkish Airlines did not fly for several months, but when I returned to Turkey shortly after resuming, I had the opportunity to talk to passengers nearby. He was a Brazilian living in Japan, but at that time he said that the only route was via Istanbul. Without Turkish Airlines, we might have had to return home on an incredible route.

Also, at the Tokyo Olympics, without Turkish Airlines, the athletes from many countries would not have been able to come to Japan. Around the time of the Olympics, a visitor from Head Office said that the cabin was full of athletes from many countries on his return flight. This is also thanks to Turkish Airlines' maintenance of routes with each country. While Haneda Airport in Japan was a lonely sight with no shops open, but Istanbul Airport was full of transit customers.

During the Iranian Revolution, Turkish Airlines helped Japanese expatriates. In Afghanistan this time, Turkish Airlines is flying to Afghanistan long before the arrival of Japanese Self-Defense Forces aircraft. In the event of an emergency in the Middle East / Africa, I think it would be better for Japan to conclude conntract with Turkish Airlines to rescue the Japanese People.

Since MOL is also a logistics company, we would like to utilize the Turkish Airlines network and the land-sea transportation network from Turkey to strengthen combined transportation such as Air & Air, Air & Land, Air & Sea with Istanbul as a hub. I just pray for the further development of Turkish Airlines in the future.

A ceremony like this one has not been held for a long time, and it was a good opportunity to greet various people. It was good to meet not only Mr.Ayci/CEO, but also the former Ambassador to Japan and the current Ambassador of Turkey to the United States, Mr.Hasan Murat Mercan, DEIK Chairman Mr.Nail Olpak, and Mr.Suzuki of Ambassador of Japan to Turkey. I hope there will be more offline meetings like this in the future.