Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv takes off Wednesday morning; stoppage on flights to US also lifted after bombings, shootings kill at least 36
Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport resumed partial operations hours after a deadly series of suicide attacks killed at least 36 people late Tuesday night.
Flights to and from Istanbul were immediately suspended after the bombings by at least three attackers believed to be Islamic State terrorists. More then 140 people were wounded in the attack in and around the airport’s international terminal.
Turkish officials have indicated that the Islamic State terror group was behind the attack, though it has not yet claimed responsibility.
The attack was perpetrated by at least three assailants, some of whom were armed with AK-47s. They opened fire on those at the airport and engaged with security officials before detonating their vests.
A Turkish Airlines flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul took off early Wednesday morning, after an overnight flight was canceled in the wake of the attack.
Istanbul is a popular destination for Israeli tourists, many of whom fly with Turkish Airlines and use Atatürk Airport for connecting flights to second destinations.
Three months ago, the National Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Bureau raised its existing travel warning for Turkey from a “basic concrete threat” to a “high concrete threat.” In a statement following the March 19 attack in Istanbul, in which three Israeli tourists were killed and 10 wounded, the bureau reiterated its recommendation for Israelis to “avoid visiting the country and — for Israelis currently in Turkey — to leave as soon as possible.”
Ankara was reportedly dismayed by Israel’s increased warning, fearing a further drop in tourism.
Flights from the US to Turkey also resumed by Wednesday after a stoppage lasted several hours.
A US official said 10 passenger flights were in the air, flying from Turkey to the US, at the time of the stoppage and they have all landed. However, cargo planes and corporate jets in the US would have been most affected by the stoppage. The official says the decision on lifting the stoppage was made in coordination with the Transportation Security Administration.
As reported by The Times of Israel