Istanbul, September, 2024.

Turkish Airlines, the airline flying to more countries than any other, has introduced ‘The Oldest Bread’ to its in-flight service menu. The recently launched offering is made of Einkorn and Emmer Wheats which are considered the oldest types in Anatolia, the cradle of the most ancient civilizations. New to the airline’s in-flight service, but well-established in Turkish history, the menu item reflects how Turkish Airlines continues to find ways to share its culture with its guests through cuisine and connecting honored traditions with modern innovations.   

The menu item was officially introduced on flight TK3 flying from Istanbul to New York on September 22, 2024. During the inaugural flight of the new Turkish Airlines offering, flag carrier airline premiered a film which was shot in the Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, and Euphrates River regions with the support of Türkiye’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.Served heated and in a special bag with butter and olive oil before meal service, the bread will be available for Intercontinental Business Class passengers.Prepared fresh by the airline’s Istanbul-based catering company, Turkish DO&CO, The Oldest Bread received additional consultancy of award-winning Turkish culinary historians Ömür Akkor, and academic Çetin Şenkul.

On the recent inflight dining addition, Turkish Airlines Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee Prof. Ahmet Bolat stated: "As the flag carrier that offers the world's finest flavors to its guests and receiving numerous accolades for it from world renowned organizations, we are pleased to introduce our business class travelers to the world’s oldest bread grown from the reproduction of ancient wheat discovered in excavations in the Anatolia region. With this bread, traditional to Turkish cuisine and significant to global culinary history, we aim to blend past and present together on our inflight guest experiences. We hope that our new menu item will be appreciated by our guests as we continue our award-winning leadership in the field of inflight dining." 

The Oldest Bread is a Turkish Airlines project that reflects the history of Anatolian agriculture that began approximately 12 thousand years ago in the Taş Tepeler region. Considered one of the centers of the Neolithic Revolution, Taş Tepeler was the first time in history that human communities transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a settled, agricultural society, and wheat was domesticated in this area approximately 12 thousand years ago, and as a result, nutritional habits and social structures were reshaped.

Turkish Airlines continues to maintain its status as the airline with the world's best inflight dining concepts and globally recognized menus, including flavors from both traditional Turkish cuisine and world cuisines. Sourcing 80% of the products used in its menus from local producers, the airline’s in-flight dining offerings are prepared daily by expert chefs using the freshest products, in a boutique production style.