A travel company loses thousands of dollars in Turkish flight ban in Sulaimani 

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – After Turkey closed its airspace to flights from and to Sulaimani International Airport, a local travel agency has lost thousands of dollars as a result of the decision made by Ankara in protest of allegedly growing Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) influence in the province.

Customers of Aram Hama Kareem’s travel agency have booked flight tickets worth $10,000 to various destinations, including Germany.

“All the flights have been canceled,” Hama Kareem told Kurdistan 24, comparing the economic damage sustained to the ones they endured during the COVID-19 lockdown.

In addition to closing down its airspace, Turkey does not allow other airlines to use the airspace for flights to and from Sulaimani, forcing the German budget airline Condor to cancel its flights.

“Most of the travel agencies have been impacted by the decision, as numerous flights have been halted,” Atta Anwar, the head of the Sulaimani-based travel agencies group, told Kurdistan 24.

Those who wish to travel abroad must go to other airports in the region due to the flight ban in Sulaimani, Anwar added.

The ban is expected to last until early July. In 2017, Ankara again closed down its airspace to flights from Sulaimani for similar concerns.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) on Friday reported that the airport has been “attacked”, without elaborating further on the nature of the assault.