People are shopping on a busy 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 growing coronavirus infections, disrupting a key source of tourism revenue to 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 continue to run between Moscow and Istanbul, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said in a televised briefing on Monday. In total, 80% of the cases of Covid-19 identified in Russians returning from abroad referred to people coming from Turkey, the head of public health Anna Popova said for the same briefing.
About 500,000 Russians booked tours in Turkey during the period, which covers two legal holidays, the Russian Association of Tour Operators told RIA Novosti. The Istanbul Stock Exchange’s tourism index fell 6.4 percent on Monday as rumors spread that flights could be suspended, closing at its lowest level since Jan. 11.
Russia was the largest source of tourists in Turkey last year, with 2.13 million people visiting despite coronavirus restrictions.
Daily cases in Turkey, the largest in Europe, reached a record 55,941 on April 8. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will announce stricter measures of social distance on Tuesday after a cabinet meeting.
Erdogan hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky over the weekend amid growing tensions with Moscow over a massive Russian the accumulation of troops near the border with Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin spoke with Erdogan about the crisis in Ukraine and the situation of Covid-19 the day before.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied any connection between the flight ban and Zelensky’s visit, telling RIA Novosti that the move was linked exclusively to the coronavirus situation. Russia also suspended flights to Tanzania on Monday, citing the outbreak there.