Policies

• Biodiversity Policy

  Being aware of the importance of biodiversity for humanity and the environment globally, Türk Hava Yolları A.O. (“Turkish Airlines”) declares its Biodiversity Policy prepared to protect biodiversity and provide sustainable operations in order to bring its employees, customers, suppliers, affiliates, all business partners, and shareholders together for the same purpose. Turkish Airlines supports all Sustainable Development Goals within the scope of the commitments declared in its Sustainability Policy, Environmental Policy, Supplier Code of Conduct Policy, Energy Policy and Sustainable Procurement Policy.

  Protection of Ecosystem

  Turkish Airlines identifies and monitors the impacts and risks of its activities on biodiversity and takes measures to protect the diversity of species, habitats, ecosystems and the integrity of ecological functions. It avoids activities that harm protected forests and species. It avoids operational structuring that would damage nationally and internationally important ecosystem zones. Turkish Airlines strives to lead the practices regarding the No Net Loss (NNL) principle in biodiversity and prevention of deforestation through sustainable procurement and supplier management practices. It spreads a similar approach and perspective to all its suppliers and stakeholders. It takes measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through fleet modernization, operational improvements, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) use, and carbon offsetting measures to manage the factors that may have an impact on climate change in accordance with the mitigation hierarchy. It supports sustainable biofuel research and development activities.

  Conservation of Endangered Species

  Turkish Airlines shares the importance of biodiversity with all stakeholders. It works with the awareness of responsible transportation to prevent illegal wildlife trade. It ensures that transportation is carried out legally. It takes measures and cooperates with authorized institutions to prevent contrary situations from occurring. In this context, it adopts a zero tolerance approach. It ensures that competent and trained employees are involved in the biodiversity management. As a signatory to the United for Wildlife Buckingham Palace Declaration (UFW), Turkish Airlines supports the goal of responsible transportation to prevent illegal trade of wild animals. It acts with the awareness that the responsibility for protecting the ecosystem is universal at all destinations where it flies.

  Sustainable Procurement

  Turkish Airlines considers the impact on the ecosystem and makes choices to reduce it while expanding all its activities, products, and services. In this way, it also encourages its stakeholders to protect the ecosystem. With its extensive flight network, it contributes to local economic and social development in the regions it flies to. To minimize deforestation impacts, it is selective to use products that will not adversely affect the forest ecosystem.

  Continuous Improvement

  In the regions where it operates, Turkish Airlines continuously monitors good practices and integrates applicable ones into its operations to reduce its environmental impact, its negative impact on biodiversity, and its impact on the local ecosystem. Turkish Airlines follows and implements the goal of becoming “Carbon Neutral by the year 2050” to support the fight against climate change and No Net Loss (NNL) in biodiversity in its operations.

• Compliance Policy

  Türk Hava Yolları A.O. (Turkish Airlines) declares, in its Compliance Policy, the effective implementation of the laws and national and international civil aviation regulations to which it is subject with the intention of ensuring the utmost safety and security in all the operations it carries out.

  Compliance Monitoring Function

  Turkish Airlines implements the Compliance Monitoring Function with the intention of ensuring continuous compliance and conformity of all operations carried out with the laws and national and international civil aviation regulations to which it is subject as well as Turkish Airlines's own requirements.

  Compliance Monitoring Program

  Turkish Airlines prepares and applies the Annual Compliance Monitoring Program that includes the feedback system, which requires any non-compliance, non-conformity revealed as a consequence of compliance monitoring activities as well as any corrections and corrective actions to be performed in order for elimination of such non-compliance and nonconformity to be reported to the senior management.

  Creating and Encouraging the Compliance Culture

  Turkish Airlines ensures that all works required to create and encourage the corporate compliance culture are carried out, and supports the compliance awareness raising activities in order that the compliance can become a component of the corporate management system.

  Provision of Top-Level Communication Environment

  Turkish Airlines promotes an impartial flow of information and communication culture between the senior management and its employees with the intention of ensuring compliance with the laws and national and international civil aviation regulations to which it is subject in all its activities. It encourages reporting of the unintended events caused by human error while performing the abovementioned activities, and promises that it shall not use such reports coming from the employee for punitive purposes.

  Increasing the Effectiveness and Efficiency

  With the intention of assuring the compliance, Turkish Airlines ensures that the compliance audits and checks are performed by trained and competent human resources.

  Resourcing

  Turkish Airlines provides all the necessary financial and human resources in order to pursue the Compliance Policy effectively.

  Continuous Improvement of Compliance Monitoring Function

  With the intention of ensuring compliance, Turkish Airlines reviews the methods it employs in all its organizational structuring and activities. It carries out this activity in a systematic manner to allow continuous improvement.

• Our Security Policy

  In Türk Hava Yolları A.O. (Turkish Airlines), safety is the first priority for our passengers and employees. We, as Turkish Airlines Management, hereby declare that it is our responsibility to develop, employ and continuously improve a safety management system, with the objective of establishing a level of safety performance that meets national and international standards. All levels of management and employees are responsible for maintaining and continuously improving the level of safety.

  Our management is committed to:

  • Provide and promote the necessary human and financial resources to support this policy.
  • Define accountabilities and responsibilities for all management and employees with regard to safety management system.
  • Ensure that the employees are competent in concepts of safety by providing regular and ongoing support for safety training and awareness.
  • Ensure that the operation is conducted safely in accordance with human factors principles in terms of how people interact with operational environments.
  • Foster and encourage a positive safety culture that features flat, just, adaptive, committed, informed, learning, and reporting elements among employees.
  • Encourage employees to report safety-related hazards and occurrences, which will be handled in a non-punitive manner, except for cases involving gross negligence, willful violations and destructive acts.
  • Ensure safety hazards are identified and risks are managed and mitigated to an acceptable level.
  • Ensure that all relevant safety events are analyzed and investigated, corrective and preventive actions implemented.
  • Encourage all employees to cooperate with the compliance monitoring requirements and investigation needs.
  • Follow up with safety related actions and keep track of their effectiveness.
  • Process, routinely review, and aim to continuously improve safety performance indicators.
  • Periodically review safety policies, procedures and practices to ensure compliance with standards, regulations and best practices.
  • Ensure that externally supplied systems and services that impact upon the safety of our operations are aware of this policy and meet appropriate safety standards.
  • Require all employees to familiarize themselves and comply with safety policies and procedures.
  • Operate a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS) in accordance with our Fatigue Risk Management Policy.

• Quality Policy

  Turkish Airlines;

  Acts in accordance with the relevant standards, the national and international aviation regulations it is liable to comply with, and the legal and other requirements within the scope of the Quality Management System. Commits to the continuous improvement of the Quality Management System by using the appropriate method and resources with the participation of employees in order to achieve its goals and objectives.

  Seeking Excellence in Service

  Works to raise the flight, training and cargo transportation services it offers to higher levels by adopting a culture of excellence.

  Attaching Importance to Safety and Security in all Services

  Works as focused on “zero error” target to ensure flight safety and security by using competent human resources, advanced technological means in working environments equipped with the appropriate infrastructure.

  Exhibiting a Customer-Oriented Approach

  Evaluates the customers’ current and future expectations and needs by considering their different cultures, and provides services exceeding the service provided by its competitors.

  Evaluates all feedbacks effectively to keep the customer’s satisfaction at the highest level.

  Making a Difference with Employees

  Provides service through the employees who are aware of the value their works will add to the service given to the customer, who own the Company's values, who produce solutions, who adopt their works, who share their knowledge, who know and participate in teamwork, who develop themselves continuously, who are encouraged to show leadership, and whose needs and expectations are taken care of.

  Using the Best Technology

  Ensures that the best available technology is used in its activities by following the innovations that will make a difference among the competitors.

  Managing the Resources

  Provides and effectively manages all the resources needed to maximize safety, security, and quality.

  Having a Say in Global Civil Aviation

  Carries out works as focused on playing an active role in the management, activities, and decisions of the national and international civil aviation organizations.

  Joining Forces with our Stakeholders

  Joins forces by taking into account the needs and expectations of all stakeholders for the continuity of stable growth and long-term success worldwide.

  Improving Consistently

  Plans and carries out its activities with a risk- and opportunity-oriented, systematic approach. Monitors the effectiveness of all activities in order to improve the performance of the Quality Management System continuously. Takes and maintains the improvement opportunities to reduce risks and turn them into opportunities.

• Our Safety Policy

  Türk Hava Yolları A.O. (Turkish Airlines) hereby declares its Security Policy to ensure security and the constant improvement of operational conditions during the course of its activities. These include passenger transportation, cargo transportation, and training conducted according to national and international regulations and standards.

  To Ensure Operational Security

  Turkish Airlines develops and implements and ensures implementation of processes to prevent acts of unlawful interference that may occur on the ground or during flights and establishes security objectives and security performance standards. While implementing these processes, Turkish Airlines provides a periodic policy review to ensure continuing relevance to organizational needs and to the requirements of security performance standards.

  Management of Security-Related Activities

  Turkish Airlines ensures a clear statement of the organization's security objectives and the measures taken in order to conform to national and international security regulations. It executes its corporate security management system to provide security to all its activities with constant improvement.

  To Determine Security Responsibilities

  Turkish Airlines determines the responsibilities of its employees regarding security-related issues and ensures a commitment to security from senior management as a fundamental priority throughout the organization.

  To Identify Security Vulnerabilities and Risks

  To ensure that the security measures required for ensuring protection of staff members, passengers, visitors, buildings, facilities/premises, aircrafts of Turkish Airlines as well as of any cargo, for which Turkish Airlines is liable for carrying, against any and all kinds of sabotage, assaults, hostage-taking and such other similar incidents threating security, are determined by means of risk-based activities. It implements the determined measures and ensures their implementation.

  To Provide the Highest Level of Communication

  Turkish Airlines promotes a just culture where the flow of information and communication is carried out objectively between senior management and the employees in order to support all activities in a secure framework. Communication shall be executed in a secure manner, including non-punitive reporting procedures to encourage the reporting of any inadvertent human error.

  To Establish and Promote a Corporate Security Culture

  Turkish Airlines ensures that all necessary arrangements are made to establish and promote a “Corporate Security Culture”. It promotes activities to increase security awareness and to make security an integral part of the corporate management system.

  To Provide Necessary Resources for Security

  Turkish Airlines ensures the provision of the resources necessary for the successful implementation of the security policy.

• Occupational Health and Safety Policy

  The Senior Management of Turkish Airlines declares its Occupational Health and Safety Policy in order to bring together its employees, customers, suppliers, affiliates, all business partners and shareholders for the same purpose. 

  Abiding by the Rules 

  Complies with international aviation rules along with national, legal and other regulations on occupational health and safety issues. 

  Considering People while Growing, 

  Uses equipment and organizations that have the minimum risk level while planning new investments, expanding the fleet, and raising the technological infrastructure level by considering the health and safety of its employees, customers, suppliers and subcontractors. 

  The Company Management believes in the importance of working in a safe and healthy environment, and that this is a part of the Company's success. 

  Employee Participation and Communication 

  Ensures participation of all the levels of the organization in the improvement of occupational health and safety performance. Realizes activities in order to support the improvement of occupational health and safety culture via increasing knowledge and awareness of employees regarding occupational health and safety. 

  Establishes an open dialogue regarding occupational health and safety with employees and suppliers for current and future activities. 

  Resource Procurement 

  Undertakes provision of resources necessary for implementation, maintaining and development of the established occupational health and safety management system. 

  Managing the Risks 

  Identifies all risks concerning occupational health and safety arising from its activities, develops action plans in order to minimize these risks and realizes activities for preventing occupational accidents and occupational diseases. 

  Ensures continuity of monitoring of work environment and preventive medicine works. Establishes the necessary infrastructure for creating a healthy and safe work environment for personnel, subcontractors and guests. 

  Determines probable emergencies in working areas and realizes preparation activities for all these scenarios. 

  Controls that personnel taking part in critical functions are physically and medically fit to undertake their respective tasks. 

  Carries out the procedures below in order to make no compromises regarding operational security and safety and to minimize the operational risks, with the awareness of human factor in the civil aviation industry: 

  • First of all, alcohol and psychoactive substance addictions are taken into account as a selection criterion when it comes to human resource employment for tasks involving critical functions. People who are confirmed to be alcohol and/or psychoactive substance addicts are not employed. 
  • Checks whether employees carrying out tasks involving critical functions are under the influence of alcohol and/or psychoactive substances first routinely before they start their duties and randomly during their duties. 
  • Employees who are confirmed to be under the influence of alcohol and/or psychoactive substances are not allowed to be involved in operations. The regulations of national and international civil aviation authorities are complied with to the letter. 
  • Supports employees who admit to be alcohol addicts with their treatments provided that they did not violate any rules. 

  Improving Consistently 

  Monitors and measures the occupational health and safety performance, and makes efforts to improve its performance in this area consistently by considering the good practices in the World as well. 

  Fulfills the requirements of suitable management procedures by reviewing the policy continuously through the occupational health and safety targets and continuous development programs.

• Environmental Policy

  The Senior Management of Turkish Airlines hereby declares its Environmental Policy covering the design and presentation of the scheduled and unscheduled passenger and cargo commercial air transportation services in domestic lines, the in-flight services in international lines, and the training services in order to bring its employees, customers, suppliers, affiliates, and all its business partners and shareholders together around a common goal for its future, in line with duties and common values of the Company by considering the national and international laws and regulations as well as the commercial ethics, by focusing on total quality.

  Abiding by the Rules 

  It complies with the aviation regulations along with the national legal requirements, and the other national/international requirements on the environmental issues that it is liable to comply with. It aims to extend beyond compliance with laws by the environmental projects it supports.

  Managing the Environmental Aspects 

  It determines the environmental aspects of all its activities, products, and services, detects the environmental impacts, and develops action plans to decrease such impacts. It applies an improvement-oriented management system and methods to keep significant environmental aspects under control.

  Minimizing Adverse Environmental Impacts 

  It gives top priority to protection of environment while carrying out all its activities, products and services. It supports the fuel efficiency initiatives and takes measures to decrease the greenhouse gas emissions to decrease and eliminate the factors that may worsen the climate change.

  It takes measures against noise pollution and wastes. It minimizes wastes by giving priority and support to the use and recovery of recyclable materials within the waste management process.

  Considering People and the Environment while Growing 

  It considers the life cycle approach while planning new investments in relation to its operation area, expanding its fleet, and upgrading its technological infrastructure.

  Bequeathing an Habitable World for Future Generations 

  It uses the natural resources effectively and efficiently as per the sustainability principle by considering the future generations that are its common assurance with its stakeholders; and places importance on biological diversity.

  Developing along with Stakeholders 

  It works to increase the environmental awareness of its own employees, and encourages their participations. It shares and spreads good environmental practices by making contact with all its stakeholders. It supports the sustainable products and services throughout the life cycle.

  Improving Consistently 

  It measures, monitors, reviews and continuously improves its environmental performance on a regular basis as per its environmental objectives. It ensures participation of stakeholders and all levels of the organization for the improvement of its environmental performance. It shares the information on its environmental performance with its stakeholders. It reviews, updates, and shares its Environmental Policy with the relevant parties periodically.

• Customer Feedback Management Policy

  In the cargo service activities it carries out by adopting a customer-oriented approach, Turkish Airlines manages all expectation, complaint, suggestion and satisfaction feedbacks of its customers in line with the following principles by taking the national and international authorities' requirements, legislative conditions, and the documented information of the Company as references.

  • It listens to its customers by using the latest and the most readily available means of communication.
  • It receives the feedbacks without any economic expectation, and informs the customers that their feedbacks have been received.
  • It puts the feedbacks in order of priority, within the scope of information integrity principle, handles and evaluates them objectively and by preserving the confidentiality of the concerned parties, and informs the results of such evaluation to the customers on time.
  • It carries out the solutions it suggests to the concerned parties on the basis of transparency and accountability.
  • It supports its personnel regarding customer-oriented behaviors, and improves their competencies through trainings and motivation boosting applications.

  By providing all the necessary resources, Turkish Airlines uses the feedbacks received from the customers, personnel, and all the other concerned parties to improve its product and service quality, improve its processes continuously, and increase the customer satisfaction.