Türkiye-Iran air travel partially resumes after 15-day hiatus: minister

Air travel between Türkiye and Iran partially resumed on Friday after being suspended for 15 days due to the Iran-Israel conflict, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said.

Uraloglu noted that flights from the Iranian eastern city of Mashhad to Istanbul, operated by Iranian carriers, is resuming on Friday.

"This marks a partial reopening of air travel between Türkiye and Iran after a 15-day hiatus," he said on social media platform X.

Uraloglu added that the airspace in the cities of Tehran and Tabriz, located in western Iran, will remain closed, and the restriction will continue until Wednesday, July 2.

The minister noted that talks are ongoing with Iranian authorities to allow Turkish planes stranded in Iran to return with special permits. "Efforts are continuing to fully normalize flights with Iran and bring the grounded planes back to Türkiye as soon as possible," he said.

Uraloglu had previously stated that seven Turkish airline planes were stranded in Iran due to the airspace closure.

Iran's official news agency IRNA reported that Iran has postponed the full reopening of its airspace until Saturday afternoon.

Iran closed its airspace on June 13 as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran and other areas. Following a 12-day areial conflict, a ceasefire between the two sides was achieved on Tuesday.