Turkish Airlines will offer flights to Istanbul four times a week -- Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Tickets are already available online with flights beginning April 1, 2013.
It's a 12-hour flight. Tickets right now are around $1,000 round-trip.
Istanbul is one of Houston's sister cities. Thousands of people travel between the two cities every year.
That's why Turkish business leaders here tell us they've been working for three years to bring direct flights to Houston.
Mayor Annise Parker is expected to make an official announcement with more details Monday morning. Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for updates as we continue following this story.
And this news comes just a few weeks after Houston passed a plan to allow Southwest Airlines to build international gates at Hobby Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration still has to sign off on the proposal. The city's decision was followed by a decision from United Airlines to cut its Houston flight schedule starting in the fall.
