Flights to TRNC reduced to 3 per day, students given priority

The TRNC Ministry of Public Works and Transport has reduced the number of flights to the country to 3 per day with more priority given to students.

The announcement was made by the Minister of Public Works and Transport Minister Resmiye Canaltay in a NOTAM (notice for airmen) issued on Tuesday.

The Ministry said restricting the number of scheduled flights to the TRNC to three times a day and a maximum of 200 people per flight, is in line with the quarantine capacity and is effective from Wednesday, March, 3.

Noting that the number of Covid-19 cases has increased recently and the virus has mutated in some countries, Canaltay said that in order to protect public health, restrictions have been imposed on arrivals from some countries to the TRNC.

According to the NOTAM, the number of flight arriving in the country was restricted, and people who were in England, the Netherlands, Denmark, South Africa and Brazil in the last 14 days were banned from entering the TRNC.

Apart from students studying in the TRNC, TRNC citizens, their parents, spouses or children travelling from countries where flight restrictions are being imposed after new variants of COVID-19 have been detected will be allowed entry into the country, provided that they remain in quarantine for 14 days.

We are expecting around 4000 students. More flights to the country mean a drop in ticket prices. We are going through a difficult period. The government is doing all it can to enable university students to return, to protect the public’s health and to help the economy back on track, she said.

Those who cannot certify that they are students will not be admitted to the island, will be sent back or not be taken to the plane by airline companies, said Canaltay.

This issue will continue to be handled within the framework of both public health and economy, she added.

The quarantine application will continue for 10 and 14 days, depending on the number of cases and trends in the countries. There will never be any concessions, she said.

Canaltay noted that if the capacities of quarantine hotels are increased, the scheduled flights will also be increased.

The Minister said the Ministry was working in harmony with the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Education adding that they will continue to publish NOTAM on the flight restrictions in line with the requests from these ministries.