Turkey flights return to normal after coup

People wave Turkish flags as they gather in Taksim Square in Istanbul

Britons in Turkey were left unable to fly home and told to stay indoors after violence broke out when a faction of the military attempted to overthrow president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Others feared they would have to cancel holidays after flights to some of the countries major cities were suspended at the weekend after 294 people were killed during the attempted military coup.

But despite flights being cancelled over the weekend by some major airlines, many journeys will go ahead as travel to the country returns to normal despite Foreign Office warnings to “exercise vigilance”.

One Wigan resident, who asked not to be named, is due to fly out to Icmeler on Wednesday.

She said: “We went to the travel agents on Saturday and they told us we would be ok to travel.

“They said they had been offering cancellations or to transfer flights to people on Saturday and Sunday but they told us everything was good to go.

“They have been following advice from the Foreign Office and if they said I couldn’t or it wasn’t safe to go I wouldn’t but at the moment I am happy to fly.”

British Airways cancelled all its flights to and from the country on Saturday after violence broke out in the country’s capital Ankara and in Istanbul on Friday night.

BA flights are beginning to return to normal while Thomas Cook and Thompson continued to their flights from coastal resorts.

On Saturday Thomas Cook had been advising customers to “stay in their hotels until further notice”, but a later statement from the company said their flight and holiday programme was operating as normal.

Apart from Marmaris, the Foreign Office has said that coastal resorts did not appear to be significantly affected but urged people to “exercise vigilance in resort areas”.

The Foreign Office said flights to and from airports in Turkey were returning to normal, but added that some disruption remained and people should check with the airline or tour operator before travelling.

It said: “In Ankara and Istanbul we advise you to avoid public places, in particular demonstrations, and remain vigilant.

“Take sensible precautions if you are in the vicinity of any military or security forces. Roadblocks are in place in some areas.”