Millions across Türkiye hit roads for Eid holiday

ISTANBUL

Millions of people across the country took to the roads over the weekend for the nine-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, with the interior minister warning citizens to be careful while driving.

“On April 6, the first day of the holiday, 651 traffic accidents occurred in 24 hours,” Ali Yerlikaya said.

“Unfortunately, nine citizens lost their lives and 1,047 citizens were injured in traffic accidents,” he added.

Yerlikaya said that 65,600 personnel, 749 mobile radars,30 helicopters and 2,460 hours of drone traffic control will be in operation during the holiday.

During the nine-day Ramadan holiday period in Türkiye, Transportation Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu anticipates that between 30 to 35 million citizens will travel across the country. To accommodate this surge in travel, the ministry has taken extensive measures across land, air and rail transportation networks to ease travel and protect passengers. Uraloğlu announced increased inspections and additional services to prevent any traffic incidents and added, "During this holiday as well, bridges and highways under the management of the General Directorate of Highways will be free of charge for nine days from Saturday morning until the end of the holiday, by the decision of our president."

Highlighting the railway sector, Uraloğlu noted significant enhancements such as adding Pullman and sleeping cars to major regional trains like the Izmir Blue Express and Eastern Express to increase the seating capacity by 15,200 across mainline and regional trains, offering an extra 33,000 seats throughout the holiday period. In response to the expected passenger influx, additional bus services have been authorized, with strict penalties for unauthorized transport activities, including pirate transport, operating without a permit, picking up or dropping off passengers in non-designated areas and overcharging for tickets.

Minister Uraloğlu, noting that they have taken measures to ensure that citizens can travel in peace across Türkiye's 68,680-kilometer road network, said, "We have increased inspections of bus companies so that our citizens do not face any issues in finding bus tickets." Uraloğlu also mentioned that additional services have been added on both commuter and high-speed train lines on the railways. He stated that necessary precautions have been taken at all airports, especially Istanbul Airport, to prevent any adverse situations.

In addition to domestic travel, the introduction of on-arrival visa services for Turkish citizens traveling to the Greek islands from Türkiye began in April, promising to boost tourism significantly. The service, currently available for five islands, has seen increased interest due to the holiday season. Kıvanç Meriç, the İzmir Director of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (TÜRSAB), anticipates a record number of Turkish visitors to the Greek islands this year, expecting 10-15 thousand visitors during the holiday week alone, facilitated by the hassle-free visa process at the gates.