Flights between UAE and Turkey to resume this week

Flights between UAE and Turkey to resume this week

Flydubai has confirmed services between Dubai and Istanbul will restart on December 17

Flights between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are poised to resume within days for the first time since the pandemic forced authorities to shut airports earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

Flydubai, which is owned by the Dubai government, like Emirates, will restart flights between Dubai and Istanbul from December 17, according to a company spokeswoman.

Turkish Airlines plans to resume this route within days, said the people who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Turkish Airlines and Emirates withheld flights between their two hubs even as both carriers revived their pandemic-depleted schedules. And while neither airline had said why the services remain suspended, it came at a time of worsening relations between the two nations.

The UAE's aviation regulator didn't respond to requests for comment.

The Dubai-Istanbul journey, which takes between four and five hours ranked among Emirates' busier routes.

For Turkish Airlines, the corridor provided a welcome way to attract budget-minded passengers headed for western Europe or North America through the country's new Istanbul airport.

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