Turkey announces end to ban on Sulaimani Airport
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish Ministry of Transport on Wednesday announced it was lifting its embargo on flights between Turkey and the Sulaimani International Airport located in the Kurdistan Region.
“The Sulaimani flight ban will be lifted on Jan. 25. Istanbul-Sulaimani flights will be serviced seven times a week,” Transport and Infrastructure Minister, Cahit Turhan, was quoted as saying by Anadolu Agency.
Ankara’s ban has been in effect for over a year and came following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum in September 2017. It first included both the airports in the capital of Erbil and Sulaimani. However, in March 2018, Turkey agreed to resume flights with the former, excluding the latter.
Ankara’s continued embargo was based on allegations that both Gorran (Change) Movement and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – whose strongholds are in the Sulaimani province – aid the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish group fighting for broader rights in Turkey which Ankara, the United States, and the European Union have designated a “terrorist” organization.
Updates to follow...