Armenians welcome the relaunch of flights between Yerevan and Istanbul,

Turkey, Armenia to hold 2nd round of normalization talks Feb. 24TURKEY-ARMENIA-RELATIONSArmenians welcomed the relaunch of flights between Istanbul and Yerevan which are expected to kick off Wednesday following discussions to normalize the long-time broken ties between Turkey and Armenia last month.

Residents of Yerevan spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the flights which were operated by Atlasjet until 2020 but were stopped because of the company's bankruptcy.

Gagik Dorunts said the flights will contribute to the strengthening of economic and political relations.

Dorunts, 73, underlining the need for peace in the region, said: "It is good that there are flights between Turkey and Armenia. When it comes to trade, it is possible to bring very high-quality goods from Turkey. We want to see Armenian products in the shops in Turkey."

Arpi Maisuryan pointed out that flights are of great importance for the development of tourism and trade.

"There are many Armenians living in Istanbul. This is good for them, too, and I do not see it negatively that tourism develops to a certain extent,” said Maisuryan. "As for trade, there are already Turkish products here and people are satisfied with this quality.”

Meanwhile, Hamlet Hakopyan stressed that it is necessary to start the flights and it will make a great contribution to strengthening ties between people and the maintenance of peace in the region.

Countdown to flights

Pegasus Airlines will operate flights from Istanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport to Yerevan on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and from Yerevan to Istanbul on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

FlyOne will operate flights from Yerevan to Istanbul Airport on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

In 2019, 61,431 passengers were transported between the two countries. The flight time takes two hours.