On Turkish Airlines and the coup

There’s something of a running joke in our house about country names and democracy, mostly that the longer the name and the more references to democracy in it the less likely the government is to actually respect the democratic process. And so, watching the developments in Turkey over the past few weeks – and especially as they apply to the country’s flag carrier THY Turkish Airlines – I cannot help but shake my head in disappointment. They’re trying so very, very hard to prove that Turkey is a secular democracy, and in doing so demonstrating so very much that it is not.

The first statement from the carrier came shortly after the “attempted coup” of 15 July. The carrier took to Twitter to condemn the action.

Our nation has demonstrated its preference for democracy, freedom, and maintaining the integrity of our country. We call upon all

— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) July 16, 2016

citizens who believe in democracy and freedom to stand up against this attack on our Parliament and our public representatives.

— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) July 16, 2016

Turkish Airlines condemns the attempted military coup.

— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) July 16, 2016

Shortly after the coup was suppressed it shared news again, praising Erdogan:

To the attention of our passengers: https://t.co/kGo57cGeSn pic.twitter.com/dvwYM22yID

— Turkish Airlines (@TurkishAirlines) July 16, 2016

Definitely more political than most airlines would be, but in the throes of conflict and with that being a strong broadcast avenue (1.39mm followers) – and one of the few still easy to control – seeing government influence there isn’t all that surprising.

In the weeks since the putsch, however, we’ve seen another type of revolution in action. Declaration of emergency law and purging of the military could have been easily foreseen following the botched uprising. The termination of 200+ employees at the airline seems a relative drop in the bucket compared to its total size, though an interesting scenario given that the carrier manages the presidential fleet.

Shuttering more than 100 media outlets and firing nearly 40,000 educators is much harder to rationalize, other than as a massive, over-reaching move to control the population and limit the free flow of information.

I’ve opined in the recent past that the inability to reasonably get news out of the country is sufficient to give me pause in visiting again; I cannot judge the safety circumstances without knowing what’s actually going on. That ability is getting worse, not better, as the government seeks to crack down on anyone not publishing the party line.

Not because I necessarily think Istanbul is dangerous but because the government there is doing so much to suppress news from getting out. If I cannot make an informed decision then the only smart decision is to stay away. And that sucks.

And so we come to the latest move in the bizarre interaction between the airline and the government in recent weeks: The renaming of the airline’s lounge at Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport.

Yup, the airport lounge is now renamed in homage to the unsuccessful revolution. Which is mostly ridiculous because no one is going to call the airport lounge by that name. It is the Turkish Lounge at IST and always will be. Maybe some awards show will use the full name in congratulating the airline some day, but it is a ridiculous move overall that doesn’t really help the airline other than to promulgate the message of the government. Yes, it is a flag carrier with a sizable government ownership stake. But moves like this are ridiculous pandering. They’re simply trying too hard.

And the irony of it happening at the airport named for Ataturk is hard to overlook.