Turkey extends airspace closure to Sulaimani flights, says governor

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Turkish authorities have extended the closure of its airspace to all the flights taking off and landing at the Sulaimani International Airport (SIA) until July 10, according to the city's governor.

Imposed in early April, Turkey’s strict measure came in response to “infiltration” of the airport by Ankara's archfoe, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said that the time. The ban’s deadline was for July 3 with the possibility of an extension.

The closure has been extended until July 10, Sulaimani Governor Haval Abu Bakir told reporters on Wednesday morning following the congregational Eid al-Adha prayers at one of the city’s mosques.

Discussions aimed at opening the airspace to all flights bound for Sulaimani and the resumption of Turkish Airlines flights are ongoing, Abu Bakir said, adding he was "optimistic" that a decision will be made in July. 

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.

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.

Fighting the PKK since the mid-1980s, Turkey has launched numerous ground and aerial military operations against the Kurdish militants inside Kurdistan Region, resulting in tens of thousands of causalities. 

Bolstered by its advanced drone industry, Ankara has assassinated several suspected members of the group inside urban centers, including in Sulaimani and Garmiyan areas in recent years. 

Additional reporting by Kurdistan 24 Sulaimani reporter Aram Bakhtiyar