ISTANBUL, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) on Saturday announced that it reduced the frequency of domestic flights in line with the newly announced measures against COVID-19.
The CEO of the company, Bilal Eksi, said at a tweet that the carrier would only give services to 14 major cities across the country with a limited number of flights.
The action would be put into force after midnight on Sunday, Eksi said, noting that the requirement of passengers to get their travel permissions from the governorships will start after 5 p.m. (1400GMT) on Saturday.
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, meanwhile, said at a tweet that the domestic flights would only be provided by the THY.
Meanwhile, all international flights were stopped the previous night upon the order of the Turkish president, following the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and the Scientific Council, the directorate also announced.
Issuing a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM), the directorate said the international flight prohibition also includes the flights of business jets, and exceptional authorizations would be needed for carrying Turkish citizens in case of repatriation.
Cargo flights, governmental flights, and emergency medical flights, and emergency landing for technical reasons are exempted from the ban, according to the notice.
The previous night, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced new measures to strengthen the country's fight against the outbreak of COVID-19.
Erdogan said all international flights would be suspended, and intercity travel across the country would be subject to the permission of governors in each province.
"Anti-coronavirus measures will be strictly implemented in 30 major Turkish cities," Erdogan added, noting pandemic councils would be established in these cities to take additional precautions if necessary.
A flexible working system would be implemented, social distancing would be applied in public transport, and picnic spots would be closed, the president also said, noting that newly recruited soldiers would be subjected to a 14-day quarantine during admission and dismissal.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey climbed to 92, and the confirmed cases to 5,698 on Friday.
