Turkey Plans to Resume Flights With 40 Countries in June
Turkey plans to resume flights with around 40 countries in June and has reached preliminary agreements for reciprocal air travel with 15 countries, Transport Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said on Thursday.
Turkey largely sealed off its borders as part of measures to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Domestic flights resumed on Monday to some provinces as Ankara eased restrictions after a significant drop in infection rates.
Karaismailoglu said flights would resume in five stages in June, adding Turkey was in talks with 92 countries on resuming flights in a safe manner.
“We believe that we have left behind an important point in the battle against the virus globally. Now, we have to continue our global ties and trade,” he said in a written statement.
Following the flights that are scheduled restart on June 10, Turkey is planning to resume flights with the Netherlands and Kazakhstan on June 20, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, South Korea, Ireland, Montenegro, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovakia flights on June 20 and Belgium flights on June 25.
The 15 countries with which Ankara has reached a preliminary agreement to resume reciprocal flights include Italy, Sudan, the United Arab Emirates, Albania, Belarus, Jordan and Morocco.
Germany said on Wednesday it was talking to Ankara about reviewing travel restrictions but was awaiting a recommendation from the European Union.
Checkpoints at airports, isolation at home
The transport minister stated that a decision taken by the Health Ministry on May 20 meant that the 14-day isolation rule for the citizens coming to the country on chartered flights from abroad would be implemented in homes after an examination at airports.
Accordingly, new arrivals will be examined in areas designated within the airport, where the passengers’ symptoms will be evaluated. The contact and address information of the examinees will be recorded in the border entry section of the Public Health Management System (HSYS).
“Those who are suspected of symptoms during their examinations will be taken to the isolation areas at the airports and will be directed to the hospital determined by the Provincial Health Directorate of the relevant cities by ambulance,” the minister explained.
The virus has killed 4,609 people in Turkey, with more than 165,000 infections so far.
