The
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has prohibited all airlines from
flying from Turkey to the United States, it said on July 15, after a
failed coup sparked violence and a government crackdown in Turkey.
The agency also issued a notice banning U.S. commercial and private aircraft from flying to Turkey.
“The
FAA is monitoring the situation in Turkey in coordination with our
partners in the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security
and will update the restrictions as the situation evolves,” it said in a
statement, reported by Reuters.
“All airline carriers,
regardless of country of registry, are prohibited from flying into the
United States from Turkey either directly or via third country,” noted
the U.S. Embassy in Ankara in security warning on July 16.
Meanwhile,
Turkish Airlines resumed flights from Istanbul’s international airport
on July 16 following the failed coup attempt while some foreign carriers
canceled weekend flights.
A spokesman for Turkish Airlines said
flights had now returned to their normal schedule from Europe’s third
largest hub, though delays were to be expected.
Turkish budget carrier Pegasus said its flights were also experiencing minor delays.
The closure of Istanbul’s Atatürk
Airport late July 15 had caused the diversion of 35 airplanes and
canceled 32 flights, Turkish Airlines chairman İlker Aycı told
broadcaster CNN Turk, as quoted by Reuters.
Russia also suspended passenger flights to the country on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, TASS news agency said.
British Airways said in a statement it was halting all flights to Turkey on July 16 and one on July 17 as a precaution.
“The
safety and security of our customers and crew are always our top
priority and we would never operate a flight unless it was safe to do
so,” said the company, as quoted by Reuters.
German airline Lufthansa canceled all its flights to Istanbul and Ankara on July 16 and pared back the number flights to holiday destinations Bodrum and Antalya.