The Turkish Volleyball Federation released a statement following reactions to the women’s national volleyball team’s trip to the U.S. in economy class. “The need arose to inform the public about the flight in question as the statements made by THY officials contained criticism of our association and did not reflect the truth,” the statement said. “The list was shared with THY in writing. Verbal support was also sought, especially regarding the cabin upgrade.”
Women’s national volleyball team players Ebrar Karakurt, Zefra Gunes and captain Eda Erdem, who travelled to the United States for their matches in the second week of the Nations League, have responded to Turkish Airlines for flying the team in economy class on the long journey. THY said the responsibility for the ticketing process lies with the federation and not the federation.
“We keep allocating private planes to other teams. As for us, it’s economy!” Ebrard Karakurt wrote in an Instagram post.
Karakurt emphasized that the journey would take thirteen hours and sarcastically thanked THY.
Statement from THY
Responding to the reaction of the national volleyball players, THY media adviser Yahya Ustun said the responsibility for all details regarding the ticket sales process lies with the relevant federations.
Regarding sharing on the X platform, Üstün wrote:
“Being one of the strongest supporters of national and international sports and athletes by discipline, our brand draws up a concrete flight plan at the beginning of the year, taking into account the annual flying capacities of all the federations it sponsors. After that, the responsibility for all details regarding the ticketing process belongs to the relevant federations and will be provided by the authorities.”
Statement from the Federation on the THY Issue and Response
The issue was revealed in a post on the Turkish Volleyball Federation’s social media accounts, which responded to THY’s statement.
TVF’s statement read as follows:
For publicity purposes, players and technical team of the Women’s National Volleyball Team will fly to the United States today to compete in the second stage tournament of the FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League 2024. It was necessary to inform the public about the flight in question, as the statements made by THY officials contain statements against our Federation that do not reflect the truth.
Our federation is unable to purchase business class air tickets in accordance with the laws we are bound by. Prior to our trip to the US, our group’s travel list was shared in writing and verbally with THY on May 17, 2024, and we requested their assistance, especially regarding a cabin upgrade.
Based on our request, THY informed us that TVF has the right to upgrade cabins for all activities within one year, limited to 20 people, subject to aircraft availability, and this can be done subject to availability prior to the flight.
During our team flight on May 26, 2024, no one in our team group benefited from the right to a cabin upgrade. The contract between THY and our Federation is within the scope of a barter agreement and does not include any monetary payments.
All contractual rights are reserved as the tickets are used for our Federation activities. Bottom line; Contrary to the announcements of Turkish Airlines officials, as confirmed by email, there were no cabin upgrades on the tickets for the flight in question and our flight list was shared with Turkish Airlines officials on May 17, 2024. We cannot accept statements that are contrary to reality. Sincerely, Turkish Volleyball Federation
