Turkish Southwind Airlines banned from EU

On March 28, the EU decided to ban Southwind Airlines from Türkiye from flying to and over the EU.

The decision was made after the airline applied to operate flights between Finland and Türkiye and Finland found out that Southwind is, partially, owned by Russian investors, and therefore violating the EU sanctions, Scramble reports.

Southwind Airlines was established in April 2022, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. It was launched with the support of Russian tour-operator Pegas Touristik and was set up to ensure the continuous flow of Russian tourists to Türkiye. It commenced flights in August 2022, first to Russia. Later, it added destinations in Bahrain, Belarus, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Moldova, North Macedonia, and Switzerland.

The airline currently has a fleet that is made up of two Airbus A321s, one A321neo, two A330-200s, three Boeing B737-8s, three B777-300s, and one B777-300ER.