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Istanbul attack sparks flight cancellations
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TURKISH Airlines yesterday canceled its two direct flights between Shanghai and Istanbul after an airport terrorist attack in Turkey on Tuesday that left 41 dead and 239 wounded. The airlines has offered its passengers free flight changes or ticket refunds.
Flights TK26 and TK27, which run daily between Pudong and Ataturk international airports and are a code-sharing flights with Air China, were canceled yesterday due to fears over security.
The airlines did not say whether flights on other days will also be affected though a check of its schedule online suggested no flight cancellations.
The airline’s flights to Beijing and Guangzhou were also canceled. The airline said that all tickets for flights to Istanbul through July 5 can be changed to any other flight or refunded before the end of July.
China Southern Airlines, which also has code-sharing arrangement with Turkish Airlines, made a similar announcement. Passengers can change their flights before July 31, but have to cover any price difference, the Guangzhou-based carrier said in statement.
Some Shanghai tourists, meanwhile, were caught up in the blast at Istanbul airport.
The 28 members of a local tour group, organized by Shanghai Zhongqing Travel Service, were getting ready to board their plane home when the terrorists attacked Ataturk Airport.
All members of the group are safe, but two tourists lost their passports when the blasts rocked the airport.
“It was horrible, like a scene in a movie,” said Zhang Yalin, a member of the tour group.
“The blast was about 50 meters from me, and I was almost frightened to death,” she recalled. “I could do nothing. It is lucky that the Turkish people protected me at that time.” Online travel operator Tuniu has 133 bookings for trips to Turkey before July 8, and it said it was contacting its customers to offer to change their arrangements or give them a full refund.
Its 57 customers who were scheduled to return from Istanbul but are now stranded there because of the closure of the airport have been given rooms in local hotels and have been advised to stay indoors.
Ctrip has offered full refunds to independent travelers who booked Turkish tour packages on its website and tourists in tour groups scheduled to travel to Turkey between yesterday and July 5.
Its 200-plus tourists in Turkey are safe and have been also been advised to stay inside, said Ctrip, which has issued a travel warning on Turkey.
Liu Chao, a Ctrip tour guide leading a 28-member Shanghai group in Turkey, is scheduled to return to home on Sunday. He was in Pamukkale yesterday. “I have asked my group to move together, and they are reminded to always stay in contact and avoid going out at night,” he said.
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