Monitoring Desk
ANKARA: Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Tuesday Israel’s airlines will resume direct flights to Turkiye as a mark of a continued improvement in bilateral relations, predicting a 25 percent increase in tourism this year.
The first such flight will depart today, Cohen told reporters during what he described as a solidarity visit to Turkiye, which appreciated Israel for sending relief delegations after last week’s massive earthquake.
An Israeli official said that the flights were resuming as part of an airline security deal reached last year, with the two countries rebuilding relations strained by disputes caused by Israel’s policies toward the Palestinians.
Israeli relief flights to quake-hit areas
“I would like to inform you that Israeli airlines will renew in two days, and all the three major companies in Israel will renew their flights to Turkiye,” Cohen said.
“We will definitely warm the important ties between your crucial and beautiful country and Israel,” foreign minister added, predicting that a million Israelis would travel Turkiye in 2023, up from 800,000 who went last year aboard foreign airlines.
