With Turkey’s rise as an economic and political power over the past decade, tourism has soared. Feeding some of the backlash against the new uniforms is the fear that tourists, many of whom form their first impressions of Turkey on a Turkish Airlines flight, will get the wrong impression. And for all the talk of Turkey pivoting from the West and becoming a new leader of the Muslim world, the flight schedules tell a different narrative: in January nearly four times as many passengers flew to Europe as to the Middle East.

Some feel that Turkish Airlines, nearly 50-percent-owned by the government, is simply trying to please Mr. Erdogan, who, when he is not being accused by his opponents of being a strict Islamist, is referred to as a latter-day sultan for his accrual of power.

“Turkish Airlines is leaning toward a more conservative line,” said Serdar Tasci, a sociologist who also works as a consultant to the main secular political party, the Republican People’s Party, or C.H.P. “On the one hand it is trying to be a global brand, and on the other it is allying with the neoconservative policies of the political power.”

In a written statement, the chairman of Turkish Airlines’ board of directors did not deny that the airline was doing the government’s bidding. In fact, he adamantly confirmed it. “The Turkish Airlines vision matches with our government’s vision,” said the chairman, Hamdi Topcu. “There is no difference between them and us. It is the government that appointed us.”

He added, “The Turkish Republic’s government, which came to power with democratic elections and gained the confidence of its people, represents this country’s values.”

Image The designer Dilek Hanif’s proposed uniforms, which have caused an uproar over how the country’s flagship carrier is perceived. Credit... Dilek Hanif Fashion Company, via European Pressphoto Agency

In a sense, Mr. Tasci said, the stir caused by the uniform designs is just a new twist in a perpetual conflict here. “There has been a cultural clash here” for the last 200 years, Mr. Tasci said. “But now they are bringing back the old as something new, and that is increasing the conflict.”