At least 20 planes on Oct. 1 made an emergency landing in Istanbul Airport after several countries in the Middle East closed their airspace following Iran’s recently started airstrikes against Israel.
Since Israel, Iraq and Jordan closed their airspace, many planes have started to run out of fuel after circling in the air.
According to Demirören News Agency (DHA), due to security concerns, planes running low on fuel after circling in the air are being diverted to Istanbul Airport, as well as airports in the Mediterranean province of Antalya and the capital Ankara.
Turkish airline company Pegasus has also cancelled its flights to Iran, Iraq and Jordan scheduled for Oct. 1 and 2 due to flight safety reasons.
Pegasus had previously canceled its flights to Beirut until Oct. 8 due to Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
What happened?
Iran on Oct. 1 launched a ballistic missile attack, striking dozens of targets in Israel. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said the attack was in “retaliation” for the assassinations of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah and Hamas representative Haniyeh.
Israel has killed at least 41,638 Palestinians in the last one year and has recently launched a deadly military campaign in Lebanon which resulted in death of more than 1,000 people in a couple of days.
