Direct route launched between Simferopol, Istanbul
SIMFEROPOL. July 21 (Interfax) - The first direct flight from Simferopol to Istanbul since Russia's incorporation of Crimea was performed on Saturday. Flights will become regular on that route on August 11, an Interfax correspondent said.
"We expect there will be two flights a week, on Mondays and Thursdays," Vladimir Kushnir from the Hagia Sophia tour operator told reporters.
The Simferopol-Istanbul travel time for a Grozny Avia Yakovlev Yak-42 is about 2.5 hours. The plane will land in the Sabiha Gokcen International Airport on the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait.
A round trip will cost around 13,000 rubles and a one-way fare will vary from 8,000 to 9,000 rubles. Tickets will be sold at tour operator offices in Crimea, he said.
In turn, Crimean Deputy Transport Minister Anatoly Churkin told Interfax all 100 tickets were sold in the first flight to Istanbul.
