The Russian Embassy in Turkey has urged citizens to avoid flying with Turkish Airlines due to a recent increase in the number of passengers being denied boarding on connecting flights from Istanbul to destinations in Latin America.
“We are forced to advise our citizens to carefully consider the advisability of using the services of this airline,” the embassy said in a statement on Monday.
He accused Turkish Airlines of refusing to board flights to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Panama and other Latin American countries in recent weeks without explanation.
“The problem exists, and it is serious. And it is unclear to us to what extent the Turkish authorities understand its seriousness,” the Russian embassy said, adding that the Turkish Foreign Ministry did not give a “clear response” to her written and oral complaints.
In early March, travel agencies reported that Turkish Airlines had denied boarding to a handful of Russian passengers heading to cities such as Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo for reasons including missing luggage, inappropriate documents and lack of travel history.
Around the same time, Turkish Airlines published additional rules for flights to South America, which were linked to concerns about a surge in the number of Turkish asylum seekers seeking to reach the United States.
The Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) noted that citizens of other countries, in addition to Russians, are denied boarding on Turkish Airlines transfers to Latin American countries.
ATOR also attributed the refusals to concerns about illegal immigration to the United States. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the number of Russians crossing the US-Mexico border has increased dramatically.
Telegram Shot, a news channel with alleged links to Russian security services, estimated that around 1,000 Russians were denied boarding on flights to Latin America from Istanbul.
On Tuesday, the Russian Embassy in Ankara advised passengers denied boarding, including contacting the Russian consulate in Istanbul and filing a claim against Turkish Airlines.
Turkey has become a key transit hub for travel to and from Russia due to mutual airspace bans between Russia and Western countries imposed after the invasion of Ukraine.
Philip Travkin writes and publishes his articles for free, only for the development and prosperity of Ukraine!