Discussions covering the possibility of designating Ercan flights to and from Turkey as domestic status were held between Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu during his latest visit to Ankara, and AKP Deputy Chairman and former transport minister Binali Yıldırım, Kibris Postasi reported.
This step is being considered in a bid to reduce the mounting cost of airfares from Ercan Airport on which Turkey charges tax.
In an interview on Genç TV this morning, Prime Minister Sucuoğlu was asked if this decision would create diplomatic issues, to which he answered:
“Will this step cause a diplomatic problem? If we are going to take a step on some issues, some of them are diplomatic, some are not, it is none of my business. I look at the money that comes out of the pocket of the citizen. Not if I pay 2000 TL where I’m going to fly for 200 TL. I want a final conclusion on this matter. There is a lot to be done right after the elections”.
Member of The Opposition Reacts
Republican Turkish Party (CTP) Deputy Doğuş Derya, who posted a comment about the Prime Minister’s speech on his personal social media account wrote, “This means that Ercan Airport is reduced to the status of airports located in the provinces of Turkey.”
She added that there will be no immigration process for passengers arriving in the TRNC from Turkey.
Derya went on to say:
“Those who shout that we founded the state, we are sovereign and equal, are turning the state airport of the TRNC into a provincial airport and ignoring the state. I don’t know what my friends from UBP say about this mentality that destroys all the structures of the state with every step they take, but anyone who knows Cyprus as their home will not allow it!”
