Turkish airlines temporarily suspends flights to Sulaimani airport

"No explanation has been given to us, but we have asked Turkey to clarify the reason for this decision.”
Sulaimani International Airport (Photo: Sulaimani International Airport website)
Sulaimani International Airport (Photo: Sulaimani International Airport website)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Turkish Airlines has reportedly suspended flights to Sulaimani International Airport for the month of April.

The head of Sulaymaniyah Tourism Offices and Companies Association, Ata Ahmed, told Kurdistan 24 that they were informed by email today that all flights between Turkey and Sulaymaniyah have been canceled for this month.

Furthermore, Dana Mohammed, the Director of Public Relations and Communications of the International Airport of Sulaimani, stated to Kurdistan 24 that all flights for the month of April between Sulaimani and Turkey have been canceled.

"No explanation has been given to us, but we have asked Turkey to clarify the reason for this decision by email," Dana Mohammed told Kurdistan 24.

Despite the announcement on flight cancellations,  Sulaimani International Airport’s website does not reflect cancellations of Turkish Airlines flights to Sulaimani. 

It is not the first time Turkey stopped flights to Sulaimani. Ankara grounded flights to Sulaimani for over a year following the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum in Sept. 2017. 

Read More: Turkey announces end to ban on Sulaimani Airport

The ban at first included both the Erbil and Sulaimani airports, as part of an international travel ban imposed by Baghdad. However, in March 2018, after Baghdad lifted its ban, Turkey agreed to resume flights only to Erbil, and not Sulaimani.

At the time, Turkey claimed that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Gorran (Change) Movement – the dominant two parties in the province of Sulaimani – had been providing support to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). It lifted its ban in Jan. 2019.

The reported Turkish ban comes after a helicopter carrying members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) from Rojava (northeast Syria) to Sulaimani crashed in Duhok in late March, killing nine SDF fighters.