Turkey Bans Flights from Armenia

Armen Press news agency reported that the chairman of "Fly One Armenia" stated that Turkey closed its airspace on Saturday to the low-cost airline without prior notice. The chairman of the Armenian company, Aram Ananian, said, "For reasons that are unclear to us and without any apparent justification, Turkish aviation authorities revoked a permit that had been granted to 'Fly One Armenia' to operate flights to Europe via Turkish airspace." Turkish aviation authorities executed the cancellation without prior notification, creating an uncomfortable situation for our company and our passengers. Turkey and Armenia have not had diplomatic or commercial relations since the 1990s. The countries are in conflict over several issues, the most prominent of which is the killing of one and a half million people during the Ottoman Empire in 1915. Armenia claims that the killings amount to genocide, a charge that Turkey denies. In February, a border gate was opened between the neighboring countries for the first time in 35 years to allow aid to enter for the victims of the devastating earthquakes in southern Turkey.