Airline ticket sales suspended for Russians traveling to Turkey
After a directive from the Russian aviation authority Aeroflot has stopped selling Russian citizens tickets to Turkey. Rosaviation has banned Russians from traveling to Turkey due to the political turmoil in the country.
Foreigners can still purchase tickets from Russia to Turkey and anyone can fly from Turkey to Russia.
“Passengers booked on flights to Turkey starting from July 16, 2016 till July 20, 2016 (inclusive) are entitled to cancel their tickets for a full refund or exchange them for other flights (but no later than August 20, 2016) without penalties,” said a statement from Aeroflot.
The airline was forced to introduce the restrictions following the Rosaviation decision, which bans citizens of the Russian Federation from travelling to Turkey starting July 16, 2016.
Rosaviation said the restriction will be in place until the political situation in Turkey improves. On Sunday, 450 tourists returned to Russia. Aeroflot sent empty planes to Turkey so that Russians could return home.
A spokeswoman for the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) Maya Lomidze, said there are about 4,000 Russians in Turkey, of which a thousand are on organized tours. The rest are traveling independently.
READ MORE: Turkish currency rebounds from 2008 low after failed coup
A group within the Turkish military attempted to stage a coup on Friday night, using tanks and helicopters. The conspiracy failed, as they didn’t manage to capture any senior government officials and couldn’t win wide support from the Turkish military.
At least 265 people were killed, including 104 pro-coup participants, while 1,440 people were injured in the military action in the capital, Ankara, and the country’s largest city, Istanbul.
