Some flights have begun at Istanbul’s Atatürk
Airport hours after simultaneous suicide and gun attacks killed at
least 36 people late on June 28, although the backlog resulting from the
attacks means travelers are still facing significant delays.
Airline officials urged customers to follow updates on flight information.
“Our
airport re-opened for departures and arrivals as of 2:20 a.m. and air
traffic has returned to normal,” Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
announced at a press briefing at 3 a.m. on June 29.
Meanwhile,
Doğan News Agency (DHA) quoted Turkish Airlines officials and said
flights began after 5 a.m. and that flights from Taipei, Manila and
Seoul were the first to land at the airport.
The Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States also lifted a ban on
flights between Istanbul and the United States, soon after the airport
became operational.
Authorities started to free passengers who
were on board planes that landed as the attacks were occurring between
9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. only after 4 a.m., while Turkish Airlines
officials said some 1,500 passengers were still waiting in the transit
section of the airport.
“We have informed all stations not to
send in transit passengers today. We will restart once current transit
passengers are sent away over the next two days,” DHA quoted officials
as saying.
Turkish Airlines took additional steps to relieve
passengers as customers are now permitted to freely make changes to all
flights to or from Istanbul Atatürk Airport scheduled between June 28 and July 5.
“Refunds
will be made free of charge for all tickets where travel has not been
completed or has been partially completed. The validity of the tickets
will be extended until July 31 without additional pay or fines,” an
official statement said, adding that passengers could obtain flight
information from the company’s website or call center.