Russia lifts ban on citizens flying to Turkey

With the political situation stabilizing after the attempted coup in Turkey, Russia has lifted the restrictions on its citizens from flying to the country.

The Russian Transport Ministry said Turkish authorities have fulfilled all the requirements for the travel ban to be lifted.

“After the Turks assured us about increased security measures for Russians in the country’s airports and territory, it was decided to resume regular flights for all airlines for all national carriers flying from Russia to Turkey. This includes transit flights from third countries.” the ministry said.

Russia’s biggest airline Aeroflot was ordered to halt ticket sales to Russians traveling to Turkey starting July 16 until the political situation in the country improved. The company sent empty planes to the country to return Russians back home.

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.

There were no Russian casualties as a result of the unrest, according to officials.