Turkish Airlines started a direct flight to the Slovakian city of Kosice from Istanbul on Thursday, the airline announced.

Turkey's flagship air carrier said in a statement that it started operating scheduled flights, based on fleet availability, to Kosice, an urban center of eastern Slovakia from Istanbul, which is one of the most important global transportation hubs in the whole world.

"This way, Kosice will gain strategic importance in the process of building and strengthening cultural, business and tourist activities," the statement added.

Kosice is the 119th destination in Europe for Turkish Airlines, which will operate flights to and from Kosice three times per week on Tuesdays. The city is also the THY's 289th destination in the world, which flies a total of 116 countries.

Passengers can visit turkishairlines.com, call +90 212-444-0849, or visit sales offices to see flight schedules.

The Turkish company, awarded Skytrax's Best Airline in Europe for 2015, flies to more countries than any other airline, according to Skytrax, the statement added.