Is it safe to travel to Turkey? Latest recommendations in connection with the conflict

Suggestions for safe travel and warnings are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Poland. Trips including: to Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates. Tour operators and airlines suspend or cancel flights. Many people ask what’s going on with Turkey, even though it is not a party to the conflict. Could there be airspace disruptions there?

Holidays in Turkey and the conflict in the Middle East

Türkiye is only partially close to the countries where the war is ongoing – it borders, among others, eastern border with Iran. The BBC reported that on the morning of March 4, NATO shot down a missile heading towards Turkish airspace. The situation looks disturbing and no one can predict all the actions of Middle Eastern countries. The situation concerns, among others: Cyprus, for which no special recommendations have been issued, but there is no guarantee that the airspace will not be closed.

The messages include information about exercising special caution in specific regions. The government in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, has closed the eastern borders and the airspace in the flash zone to civilian flights. At the same time, border traffic with Iran was suspended. For tourists, this means that trips to the regions of eastern Anatolia are impossible and extremely dangerous. The following are impossible, among others: trips to the Lake Van area. Travel to the border area with Syria (30 km) is discouraged – Hatay, Kilis, Gazinatep, Şanliurfa, Mardin, Şırnak districts.

It is worth remembering that many holiday resorts in Antalya and Bodrum are located as much as 1,500 km from the conflict zone. All-inclusive or last minute trips there are regularly planned.

Safe places and flights to Turkey

According to FlightRadar, flights to Turkey’s main airports (Istanbul, Antalya and Ankara) are mostly uninterrupted, but there is a risk of delays.

However, the timeout.com portal points out that Turkish Airlines has informed about canceled flights from and to places such as: Bahrain, Dammam and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Syria and the United Arab Emirates.

It is worth remembering that it is safe in the west and south of the country. The Turkish Riviera (Antalya, Alanya, Kemer) and the Aegean Coast (Bodrum, Marmaris) operate flawlessly, and charter and commercial flights operate. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not advise against trips to these places and recommends ““exercising ordinary caution”.