Aviation journalist Ali Kıdık says he received an email from Turkish Airlines telling him he has been put on a blacklist because of his writing. The airline applied its “Safe Travel Passenger Tracking System” and imposed the ban for six months, through July 12, 2026.
Kıdık had reported that the airline was updating its uniform and appearance guidelines, and that Turkish flag pins would no longer be worn by cabin crew.
Tarihe not düşüyorum…
Türk Hava Yolları’ndan bu sabah, “kara listeye alındığınıza dair” bir e-posta aldım.
Gerekçe olarak paylaşımlarım gösteriliyor.
Bunun bendeki karşılığı şudur: yazma, konuşma, yorumlama, görme, duyma.
Buradan sormak istiyorum:
THY sizin şahsi şirketiniz… pic.twitter.com/cI13CO03Ti— Ali KIDIK (@alikdk) January 12, 2026
He was also previously Deputy Group Leader of the İyi (‘Good’) Party in the Istanbul city council – a center-right nationalist party that opposes Erdoğan’s aggrandizement of power. So that may have also been a motivation for the ban, given the excuse.
Turkish Airlines policy includes a passenger ‘diminishing brand value’ as justification for a ban. And their General Conditions of Carriage say production and dissemination of “content that is detrimental to the brand value or reputation of the Carrier” warrants a refusal to transport the customer. The airline applies its contract of carriage to media statements, not just onboard misconduct.
Turkish social media generally sees this in three buckets.
- Censorship, intimidation, and the airline’s thin skin.
- The journalist must have done something pretty bad.
- The airline should punish misinformation.
U.S. airlines don’t do this, fortunately, or I’d probably only be allowed on board Alaska and Sun Country. However, it’s common to Turkey – low cost carrier SunExpress says they’ll refuse travel to anyone who “undermines SunExpress’ brand value through any media outlet…”
Aeroflot, meanwhile, has been known to revoke status from journalists who criticize the airline. And US Airways did ban a journalist although it apparently wasn’t really for criticizing the airline as the man had claimed, but for his abusive behavior toward employees.
I guess by writing about this, I may not be able to redeem miles for travel on Turkish Airlines going forward.
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