Apollo cuts out charter flights to Turkey

Turkish flagRelatives cry over the Turkish flag-draped coffin of Fatih Cakmak, one of the victims of the attack at a nightclub on New Year's Day, during the funeral in Istanbul, Monday, Jan. 2, 2017. An assailant armed with a long-barrelled weapon, opened fire at the nightclub in Istanbul's Ortakoy district during New Year's celebrations, killing dozens of people and wounding dozens of others in what the province's governor described as a terror attack. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)

Interest to spend holidays in Turkey is so low that the travel agent Apollo stopped to offer package tours this year.

– It is the first time in ten years that we have not a single charter flight to Turkey. It’s incredibly sad, says communications manager Beatriz Rivera in Apollo to news agency NTB.

In 2015 Apollo had 4,500 guests in Turkey, but the following year the figure was only 600. So now, the interest is so small that the company believes there is no basis to offer charter flights there in 2017.

– One can still book travel there with us, but with our flexible liner solutions, she says.

Turkey, which is neighboring to the civil war-torn Syria, has been hit by a series of terrorist attacks, and last summer there was a coup attempt in the country.

The company’s own estimates of the total package market show a decline in marked interest for what has been a Norwegian holiday favorite.

In the record year of 2013 there were nearly 400,000 Norwegian passengers on charter flights to Turkey. This year the Company has less than 45,000.

That’s a decline of almost 89 percent, says Rivera.
– Turkey is such a good destination and we hope the situation turns soon, she says.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today