Flights to north Cyprus cancelled due to snow in Turkey

Two flights to and from north Cyprus’s Ercan airport were cancelled on Thursday after snow in Istanbul caused Turkey’s flag carrier airline Turkish Airlines reduce its service in and out of the city.

According to Tak, the north’s news agency, flight THY966, which was scheduled to land in north Cyprus at 4.30pm, and flight THY967, which was due to depart for Istanbul at 5.20pm, were both cancelled.

Istanbul was engulfed in snow on Wednesday and Thursday, with forecasts indicating that the depth of snow in the worst-impacted areas may reach as high as 40 centimetres by the time the snowstorms are set to subside next Monday.

Many of the worst-affected areas were to the north of the city, where the airport is located, with the airport’s access roads also covered in snow according to newspaper Sabah.

Turkey’s transport ministry reacted on Thursday by reducing Istanbul airport’s capacity by 15 per cent on Thursday and 20 per cent on Friday.

“Considering that Turkish Airlines operates an average of 1,000 flights per day, it is anticipated that approximately 150 flights will be cancelled on Thursday and 200 flights will be cancelled on Friday,” it said.

Meanwhile, schools across the Istanbul province were closed due to the weather, while 1,100 homeless people were placed in shelter and accommodation centres.