Türkiye's flag carrier Turkish Airlines to rebrand as Türk Hava Yolları

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has declared that Türkiye's national flag carrier will make its international flights under the name of “Türk Hava Yolları,” replacing “Turkish Airlines”.

The announcement on Wednesday comes after the Turkish government took the symbolic step of officially changing the name of the country from "Turkey" to "Türkiye".

“Turkey no longer exists. It is Türkiye,” Erdogan said during a ceremony marking the launch of a new communications satellite.

Erdogan continued: “Türk Hava Yolları will be inscribed on the bodies of our planes instead of Turkish Airlines.”

“Hava Yolları” is airlines in Turkish.

READ MORE: UN to use 'Türkiye' instead of 'Turkey' after Ankara's request

'Türkiye', not 'Turkey'

The change took place internationally in all communications and activities, and is intended to strengthen the country's national brand.

On June 1, the country name "Turkey" was replaced with "Türkiye" at the UN, following a request by Ankara to be referred to as such.

The new brand "Türkiye" is now in place in foreign languages.

NATO has also formally begun using “Türkiye” instead of “Turkey”. 

Some high-ranking foreign dignitaries visiting Ankara have also made the switch.

The switch is intended to preserve the values that come from the deep-rooted history of the Turkish nation.

"Türkiye" brand represents thousands of years of experience of the Turkish nation in every field.

READ MORE: Why Turkey is now 'Turkiye', and why that matters