Turkey's flagship carrier Thursday named its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner "Maçka" after the home district of 15-year-old Eren Bülbül, killed by a PKK terrorist in 2017.

Turkish Airlines (THY), in a survey that began on Tuesday, asked people to choose the name of the new aircraft. Over 246,000 people participated through social media micro blogger Twitter.

The airline thanked all the participants and announced the dedication of the first flight of the aircraft to Bülbül's hometown Maçka, located in Trabzon province near the Black Sea in Turkey, by visiting the martyred teenager's family.

On Wednesday, Turkish Airlines said in a statement that 30 Boeing 787 aircraft would join their fleet within the next four years.

"The Turkish national flag carrier had placed 25 firm plus five optional orders last year for the 787-9 Dreamliner, which will be gradually added to its expanding fleet

- the youngest in the world between 2019 and 2023," it said.

The first of 30 B787-9 Dreamliners, for which the flag carrier airline started negotiating with Boeing in September 2017 and finalized talks in March 2018, joined THY's fleet on Wednesday.

Following delivery of the first of these new-generation wide-body aircraft, which form a significant part of Turkish Airlines' strategy of expanding its fleet in line with its future goals, the rest of the order will continue to arrive over the next four years.

The carrier said the new aircraft, which has a seating capacity of 300 passengers, offer more comfort, range flexibility and fuel efficiency.

Fifteen-year-old Eren Bulbul was martyred on Aug. 11, 2017 by Mehmet Yakışır, code-named "Zeynel," the top PKK terrorist in the Black Sea region. Bülbül died from gunshot wounds sustained as he helped gendarmes track PKK members near his house in Maçka, a town 22 kilometers south of the Black Sea city of Trabzon. Bülbül's death lead to public outcry, with locals hanging Turkish flags from windows and balconies and the whole of Turkey uniting in condemning the terror group.

On July 15 last year, the terrorist

who was in the red category of the country's most-wanted list was neutralized by Turkish security forces.

The wanted list is divided into five color-coded categories, with red indicating the most wanted, followed by blue, green, orange and grey.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK

listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including women and children.