Saudi Airlines to resume flights to Istanbul

ISTANBUL

Saudi Airlines is expected to resume its flights to Istanbul this week after two years of hiatus.

The first scheduled flight will be held from Riyadh and Jeddah to Istanbul Airport on May 7. Moreover, on May 11, the carrier will launch its flights from Medina to Istanbul Airport.

Flights from Jeddah and Median will be held every day, while flights from Riyadh are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The Saudi company suspended its all international flights in March 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. The carrier has gradually resumed those flights.

The resumption of flights between the two countries came shortly after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan paid a visit to Saudi Arabia to mend the stained ties.

Erdoğan held meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman late on April 28, in his first visit to Saudi Arabia since 2017.

Russia’s Aeroflot is set to resume its direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul and Antalya today after a two-month hiatus.

Initially, the Russian carrier will hold two flights a day from Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow to Istanbul Airport and one flight to Antalya Airport. The number of flights to Istanbul and Antalya will be later increased to three and two, respectively.
Aeroflot halted all of its international flights on March 8 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.