Turkish Airlines suspends flights to Colombo over COVID-19 concerns

Sri Lanka will not be able to welcome tourists from Turkey and those opting to fly into the island nation with Turkish Airlines, as the flag carrier has suspended flights to the country, due to COVID-19 concerns.

A statement by Senior Vice President Media Relations Yahya Üstün of the airline to the Turkish media shared that a decision has been made to suspend flights to four countries, including Sri Lanka, as part of measures against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Other countries to which Turkish Airlines halted flights are Brazil, South Africa and Nepal.

Üstün said the decision to suspend flights to the four countries is to prioritise passenger safety.

Turkish Airlines operated two flights per week on the Istanbul-Colombo route.

Although Turkey is not a major market for Sri Lanka tourism, a total of 103 tourists visited Sri Lanka from January to October. From the whole of Southern Mediterranean Europe, Sri Lanka welcomed over 650 visitors for the first 10 months of the year.