Minister: Airline firms support troop transfer plan

ISTANBUL

Airlines have responded positively to a government plan to transport soldiers by air, Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım has said, according to Anatolia news agency.

Turkish Airlines General Manager Hamdi Topçu has said that free-of-charge transportation of Turkish military personnel would cover 350,000 to 400,000 soldiers.

Yıldırım told reporters yesterday that they asked for the support of companies in addition to Turkish Airlines (THY) on the issue, and all of the companies were responded positively. “We will probably begin to carry soldiers by air in the coming days.”

Yıldırım said 10 soldiers had been killed recently in an ambush by terrorists in the eastern province of Bingöl. Turkish General Staff ordered on Oct. 22 that the transportation of all military personnel from security risk zones be conducted by air, in an effort to avoid ambushes on military vehicle convoys traveling on roads by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).