Israeli airlines to resume flights to Turkey after 6 years

ANKARA

Israel will renew regular flights to Turkey, says an Israeli minister. CİHAN photo

Israel will renew regular flights to Turkey following a hiatus of more than 5 years, announced Israeli Transportation Minister Israel Katz, reported Israeli media.

Israeli Civil Aviation Authority Director-General Giora Romm and his Turkish counterpart Bilal Ekşi signed an agreement in Ankara this week allowing for the renewal of flights by Israeli carriers to Turkey. This announcement follows months of discussion between the two countries’ aviation authorities.

The Israeli airlines halted scheduled and charter flights to Turkey more than 5 years ago due to disputes over security arrangements at the airports in which the Israeli carriers landed.

The signing of the flight renewal document was made possible after the Turkish authorities agreed to the Israeli security demands, and after Israel received satisfactory answers and solutions to all the security issues that it raised over the course of the talks, according to the media reports.

Romm said the Israeli airlines will be able to fly to Turkey by the summer of 2014. The agreement will allow Israeli airlines to operate unlimited scheduled and charter flights to Turkey. Turkish Airlines operates more than 60 flights per week to Israel and has carried more than one million travelers between the two countries this year.