Israeli airline resumes flight to Türkiye after 16-year hiatus

Sun d'Or, a sub-brand of Israel's flag carrier airline company El Al, has resumed its flights to Türkiye after a 16-year hiatus with the Tel Aviv-Istanbul flight.

The plane carrying 172 passengers on board as part of the first flight after 16 years landed at Istanbul Airport on March 30, reports TRT Haber.

Istanbul Airport Operator IGA officials welcomed the passengers with flowers at the terminal.

IGA Istanbul Airport Senior Executive Advisor Melih Mengu and Sun d'Or CEO Gal Gershon also attended the ceremony held at the arrivals terminal due to the resumption of flights.

In his speech here, Mengu thanked the Israeli airline company, which organized a relief flight to Turkey during the earthquakes in Kahramanmarash.

"At this point, Sun d'Or's cooperation with IGA Istanbul Airport is a great opportunity to strengthen the relations between Turkey and Israel," Mengu said,

Sun d'Or CEO Gershon said, for his part, that after a 16-year hiatus, they opened a line that they do not operate in the region.

"We also welcome the strengthening of relations between the two countries. We will continue to develop our relations both in terms of humanitarian and tourism. Istanbul, Israel. It has always been a favourite destination for its locals and we plan to launch flights to additional holiday destinations in Türkiye in the future," he said.

The Israeli airline company ceased its flights to Türkiye in 2007 due to operational costs.