Turkish Airlines cancels flights to Ukraine

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) and the private airliner Pegasus have canceled all their flights to Ukraine until further notice.

“As Ukraine’s air space has been closed, we have canceled our flight to this country for today,” Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Ekşi wrote on Twitter on Feb. 24.

As uncertainty looms over Ukraine following Russia’s attack on the country, the national flag carrier offered all passengers to change the dates of their flights to Kiev.

“Those who have round trip tickets between Turkey and Ukraine registered between Feb. 13 and Feb. 28 can change the dates of their flights,” it said on its website early on Feb. 24.

Pegasus Airlines made a similar statement on its website, mentioning the closure of Ukraine’s air space.

While the Polish LOT Airlines declared the cancelation of all of its flights to Ukraine, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) urged all airline companies to avoid flying close to the airspace of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Russian Federal Aviation Administration suspended all flights from 12 southern provinces located close to the Donbass region in Ukraine. “All flights to and from these cities will not conducted until March 2,” said the administration in a statement.