Southwind Airlines (2S, Antalya) resumed flights to Western Europe on March 2, 2026, with a charter service from Antalya to Berlin Brandenburg tied to the ITB Berlin travel trade fair, ch-aviation research reveals.

The flight was conducted with a dry-leased 189-seater B737-8, TC-GRK (msn 43359), according to ADS-B data.

Announcing the flight on social media, the airline said that it now intends to expand its network with more European destinations, but it did not elaborate.

Launched in 2022, Southwind was banned from European Union airspace on March 29, 2024, due to its alleged Russian ties. The ban stemmed from the Finnish authorities' denial of traffic rights to Southwind on March 25 of that year over suspected Russian ownership/control.

A Southwind court challenge to overturn the ban failed in August 2024, as the European Union General Court ruled that no challengeable EU decision existed, and that instead it was member-state led. The court said that a European Commission email to Southwind, while stating the ban was in place and providing justification, was not a legal decision. Consequently, no EU decision could be challenged in court.

The airline serves at least eight Russian destinations, two destinations in Saudi Arabia, and four domestic routes within Türkiye, according to ch-aviation data. It operates a fleet of 14 aircraft: four A321-200s, one A321-200NX, two A330-200s, three B737-8s, three B777-300s, and one B777-300ER.