Turkey, citing cease-fire, lifts Israel flight ban

In light of 12-hour halt in fighting, aviation authority in Turkey permits flight to resume to Ben-Gurion Airport.

By REUTERS, JPOST.COM STAFF
A Turkish Airlines plane. (photo credit: REUTERS)
A Turkish Airlines plane.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
ISTANBUL - Turkey lifted a ban on flights to Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport after a temporary cease-fire was agreed upon by both sides, the state's SHGM aviation authority said on Saturday.
"Taking into account the current cease-fire situation, the flight ban on Israel's Ben-Gurion Airport has been lifted, pending a subsequent announcement," it said via its Twitter account.
SHGM introduced the ban late on Tuesday and had repeatedly extended it due to security concerns.
The UN-requested, 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire between the IDF and Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip went into effect at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and was set to last until 8 p.m.
On Friday night, more than 1,000 Israeli passengers arrived to Ben-Gurion Airport after they were stranded in Turkey due to the country's ban on flights to and from Tel Aviv, Army Radio reported Saturday.
Since Thursday, some 3,000 travelers were airlifted to Israel via Greece on specially-chartered El Al and Arkia planes.
Turkey began its suspension of flights to Israel on Tuesday, citing security reasons.