Charter flights to Erbil, Yerevan to begin soon: Transportation Ministry

ANKARA

Turkey has announced that charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan will resume on Feb. 2 after the special envoys of Turkey and Armenia held their first meeting for the normalization of ties.

Talks between Turkey and Armenia were launched in January, according to a written statement by Turkey’s Transportation Ministry. “A decision for the resumption of reciprocal flights has been made in line with this development,” a recent statement from the ministry said.

The General Directorate of Civil Aviation has authorized Turkey’s private carrier Pegasus to fly to Yerevan three times a week. Likewise, Armenia’s authorities allowed Fly One Armenia to execute three flights weekly to Istanbul. Armenia also lifted an embargo on Turkish goods in early January as part of the mutual gestures.

Turkey’s special envoy Serdar Kılıç and Armenia’s special envoy Ruben Rubenyan held their first meeting for the reconciliation of ties on Jan. 14 in Moscow. Both sides have categorized the first encounter as positive and constructive. The two men will hold further talks in the coming period.

Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic relations with their borders sealed since 1993. Azerbaijan’s liberation of its territories in Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia’s occupation in late 2020 has changed the balances in the region that pushed Turkey and Armenia to initiate a new effort to normalize ties.

Flights to Erbil to start soon

The ministry also informed that reciprocal flights between Gaziantep and Iraq’s Erbil will be launched on Jan. 24.

The Anadolujet will fly between Turkey’s southern town of Gaziantep and Iraq’s Erbil two times a week on Mondays and Thursdays.