Flights of Turkish Airlines from Dhaka unaffected

No flights of Turkish Airlines from Bangladesh were suspended following the attacks at Istanbul Ataturk Airport in Turkey, said a senior official of the airline's Dhaka office yesterday.

Istanbul is a popular transit destination for Bangladeshi passengers who travel to Europe, North America, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and other Commonwealth Independent States.

“However, the departure of flight TK713 from Dhaka to Istanbul was delayed by one hour yesterday. The flight was scheduled to depart from Dhaka to Istanbul at 6:10 in the morning, but it left at 7:10,” said Mostafa Sarwar, marketing representative of Turkish Airlines in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, nearly 300 flights of the airline in Turkey scheduled for different destinations were suspended due to the attack, he said. Flight operations have resumed now, he added.

“No Bangladeshi passenger was hurt,” he said.

Currently, Turkish Airlines operates outbound and inbound flights from Dhaka every day.

Turkish Airlines also operates one separate cargo flight from Dhaka to Istanbul every week and carries more than 50 tonnes of goods from Dhaka to Istanbul.

In a notice on its website, the airline said, due to the incident passengers will be allowed to rebook and reroute all flights between June 28 and July 5 without any charge, provided they submit their requests by July 31. It will also accept refund requests and refund unused tickets.