The Minister of Public Works and Transport of the Türkiye Republic of Cyprus, Erhan Arıklı, announced that the domestic airline will make its maiden flight on April 16. Arıklı stated that two big Russian tour operators gave permission to start flights to the TRC and that the process for the permits in Türkiye is still ongoing. TRC Minister of Public Works and Transport, Erhan Arıklı, who was a guest on the program on a television channel, announced that after the launch of the domestic airline, it would make its maiden flight on 16 April.
Arıklı announced that two major tour operators operating in Russia have requested the start of scheduled flights to the TRC, that the TRC has given permission, and that the General Directorate of Civil Aviation will resume their first flights on April 16. The Civil Aviation Authority also explained the issue. We need to increase the number of airlines. Two more companies applied and we permitted them. DGCA in Türkiye continues its investigation, and I surveyed a local company. There are no problems with direct flights at the moment, but it is necessary to make these direct flights affordable. We have problems with Europe, but we do not have problems with Türkiye and Russia. 600 thousand Russians live in Southern Cyprus and 20 thousand Russians in our country. As Southern Cyprus follows the EU's no-fly zone, there are no flights to Moscow as before. We have to find a way for people to commute to and from their countries. That's why we should bring Russian tourists here and we should be able to transport Russians living in Cyprus to their countries in the most appropriate way.
