Turkish Airlines (THY) said in a statement on Saturday that 529 flights had been cancelled since Wednesday due to the bad weather conditions, adding that the company had provided accommodation to 9,700 passengers.
Several passengers whose flights were cancelled due to poor weather conditions staged a protest at Atatürk Airport on Friday. Some of the passengers said they had been waiting for days to fly and that company officials had not informed them about the status of their flights.
Some ferries crossing the Bosporus have also been cancelled.
Schools were also closed in the provinces of Malatya, Kastamonu, Bingöl, Ordu, Bitlis and Tunceli because of strong winds and snow. Many roads across the country have also been closed.
Authorities have been warning for days that the cold spell would be unprecedented, saying the temperatures might drop to as low as – 20°C for Istanbul
The Met Office announced on Sunday that snow will continue to fall for the next few days in most parts of Turkey including Bolu, Kayseri, Malatya, Diyarbakır, Batman, Bayburt, Şırnak, Muş, Bitlis, Erzurum, Ankara, İzmir and Edirne provinces.
Zaman, Daily Sabah
