Russians welcome removal of Turkey flight ban

By Emre Gurkan Abay

MOSCOW (AA) - The removal of the ban on tourist flights to Turkey was welcomed by ordinary Russians on Friday.

Construction company researcher Lera Cobarde, 30, said lifting the ban on charter flights was “a great deal”.

Businesswoman Alina Ivanova, 31, said the sanction imposed following the shooting down of a Russian warplane that violated Turkish airspace last November had led to Russians taking vacations in the country’s south.

“People were not satisfied with the services and the high cost in these resorts,” she said. “As a businessperson, now I can say the quality of services in Russia will better than before because of the rise in competition.”

Dmitry Malikov, a 25-year-old student, said the ban had made many people angry at being forced away from Turkish vacation spots and said Russians should be able to travel freely.

The ban was lifted Thursday following a telephone conversation between President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As Turkey's General Directorate of Civil Aviation announced on Friday on its official Twitter account, charter flights from Russia to Turkey will begin on July 7.

The Turkish government is subsidizing the renewed flights to boost the struggling tourism industry.