PREGNANT PASSENGERS

At Turkish Airlines, we aim to ensure that passengers traveling while pregnant have a problem-free flight experience. We take into account all the needs of our pregnant passengers and recommend careful reading of the detailed travel information contained on this page.

Traveling while pregnant

Our policy on flying while pregnant depends on both the passenger’s stage of pregnancy and state of health. Particularly for long flights, even passengers in good health should obtain approval from their doctor.

We rely on information given to us by the passenger about their stage of pregnancy. For this reason, it is extremely important that our passengers give us correct information about this.

Passengers who have not yet entered their 28th week of pregnancy are able to travel without a doctor’s note. Passengers expecting 1 child and who are between the start of the 28th and end of the 35th week of pregnancy are able to travel with a doctor’s note that says there is no particular reason for them not to fly. Likewise, the same note is necessary for passengers expecting more than 1 baby who are between the start of the 28th and the end of the 31st week of pregnancy.

Regardless of any doctor’s note, we do not allow passengers onboard who are expecting 1 baby and are entering or are beyond their 36th week of pregnancy or passengers expecting more than 1 baby and entering or beyond their 32nd week of pregnancy.

Rules for flying while pregnant

Stage of pregnancy
1–27 weeks 28–31 weeks 32–35 weeks 36 weeks and over
Expecting 1 baby Able to fly Doctor’s note required Doctor’s note required Unable to fly
Expecting more than 1 baby Unable to fly

Our advice for traveling while pregnant

  • Please visit your doctor for a check-up and take careful note of any advice you receive regarding long flights.
  • Choose Business Class for transatlantic journeys. You will be able to move your legs around more easily due to the extra legroom, eliminating the risk of circulation problems.
  • Travel with a companion and make sure they carry the contact details of your doctor.
  • Drink plenty of water and avoid dehydrating drinks such as tea and coffee during the flight.
  • Take regular walks inside the plane in order to increase your circulation, especially on long flights.
  • Remember to select aisle seats during check-in so it will be easier for you to reach the toilet.
  • Make sure you bring all health-related notes from your doctor with you. If you are going abroad, ensure that these notes are in English. Before setting off on your journey, make a note of the contact details of the health center that will be nearest to where you are staying.
  • Avoid using sleeping pills to reduce the effects of jetlag.
Pregnant passengers who are required to bring a doctor’s note in order to fly must ensure that the note is in either Turkish or English and dated not more than 7 days before the date of travel. The note must be on headed paper belonging to the doctor or a health center. It must contain the doctor’s name, surname, diploma number, and signature along with the date the note was written.