Soon, flights from India to Turkey for 20,000

Wednesday, 10 September 2003, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: India and Turkey are set to resume direct air links after a decade with the first flight from Istanbul arriving September 29, days after Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visits the country. Turkish Airlines, which is reopening its office here, is preparing to launch thrice-weekly flights between New Delhi and Istanbul following a formal go-ahead from the government. Vajpayee is scheduled to stop over in Turkey for a four-day visit on his way to the U.N. General Assembly session in New York. The flights from Istanbul will operate Monday, Thursday and Saturday, while from New Delhi the airline will fly on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. "The fares are fixed at Rs 34,000, but for the first month, we are planning promotional fares of around Rs 20,000," an airline official told IANS. The official said Airbus A-310s would be used for the India operations. "At present, the traffic from India to Turkey is around 4,000 a year. We aim at increasing it manifold, though we would not like to give estimates yet." So far there have been no direct flights between the two countries, although travellers take a circuitous route via Europe. According to a Turkish embassy official, the direct flights would promote trade, investment and tourism between the two countries. Turkey has been rooting for resumption of direct air links for the past two years, given the potential for setting up joint ventures for third country exports and joint projects in Afghanistan and Iraq. India would be looking to benefit through exports, apart from derive the advantage of the Turkish free trade zones adjacent to major ports in the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas with easy reach from international airports and highways. Turkish authorities plan to woo Indian tourists to the country's sites of historical and rich cultural interest. Besides, it would also provide a shorter connection to Europe.
Source: IANS
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