By Gokhan Ergocun

ANKARA

Turkish Airlines (THY) will begin operating flights from Istanbul to Uzbekistan's east-central province Samarkand by next year, the airline's Chief Executive Officer Bilal Eksi announced on Thursday.

Flights will start on March 16, 2018, Eksi tweeted.

Also, the flights would operate one time a week to Samarkand, which would be the company's 301st destination worldwide, the company's press counsellor told Anadolu Agency.

Turkey's flag carrier, which flies to 120 countries around the world, currently has 328 aircraft (passenger and cargo). It was named Europe's Best Airline for the sixth time in last year’s World Airline Survey by Skytrax.