Turkey extends due date for fuel subsidies for flights: Tourism minister

KAHRAMANMARAŞ

AA photo

A $6,000 fuel subsidy for each airplane carrying tourists to certain airports in Turkey has been extended from June until September, Culture and Tourism Minister Mahir Ünal has said. 

“We already announced our $6,000 jet fuel support for each airplane carrying tourists [to some of our airports]. I want to say that the end date for this support has been extended to September from the April-May period,” he said, as quoted by daily Milliyet during a speech in the southern province or Kahramanmaraş. 

Turkey has offered jet fuel subsidies for flights to leading tourist hot spots as part of its efforts to safeguard tourism revenue amid a dramatic drop in the number of Russian tourists and security concerns. 

Airlines are to receive $6,000 per flight when flying to airports in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Antalya’s Alanya, the Aegean resorts of Dalaman, Bodrum and İzmir, as well as the Central Aegean province of Kütahya during the start of the tourism season in April and May. 

Turkey’s vital tourism industry accounts for around 4.5 percent of the country’s $800 billion economy.