People are shopping on a busy market street in Istanbul on April 9th.
Photographer: Chris McGrath / Getty Images
Photographer: Chris McGrath / Getty Images
Russia has suspended most air travel with Turkey, citing rising coronavirus infections, which have cut off a major source of tourism revenue for the country amid tensions over Ankara’s support for Ukraine.
Most charter and scheduled flights will be suspended between April 15 and June 1, but two flights a week will still run between Moscow and Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said in a television briefing on Monday. A total of 80% of the cases of Covid-19 that were among Russians returning from abroad were among people who came from Turkey, said Anna Popova, head of public health, the same briefing.
About 500,000 Russians booked tours to Turkey during the period, covering two public holidays, RIA Novosti told the Russian Association of Tour Operators. The tourism index of Borsa Istanbul declined by 6.4% on Monday as rumors spread that flights may be suspended and closed at the lowest level since 11 January.
Russia was Turkey’s largest tourist source last year, with 2.13 million people visiting despite coronavirus restrictions.
Daily business in Turkey, the highest in Europe, reached a record high of 55,941 on April 8th. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to announce tougher social distancing measures on Tuesday.
Erdogan hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend amid mounting tensions with Moscow over a massive Russian coup troop building near its border with Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin spoke telephonically with Erdogan about the Ukrainian crisis and the Covid-19 situation the previous day.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denies any connection between the flight ban and Zelensky’s visit and told RIA Novosti that the move was only related to the coronavirus situation. Russia also suspended flights with Tanzania on Monday, citing the outbreak there.