Turkey Restricts Israeli Use Of Airspace

Turkey restricts Israeli use of airspace | CNN

Turkey has clamped down on Israel's use of its airspace, according to a statement from the Turkish prime minister and information from a Turkish government official.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday that his country's airspace had been closed to Israeli aircraft in the wake of the Israel's May raid on a Turkish ship that was part of a Gaza aid flotilla. Nine Turkish activists were killed in the raid, which has caused an epic rift between the two countries.

But the government official, who declined to be identified, told CNN that "this is not exactly the (complete) closing down of Turkish airspace."

All civilian flights are continuing, the official said. "With regard to military flights, the normal procedure is that for each ... flight countries, must ask for permission to use Turkish airspace. It is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It is true that one Israeli flight was not allowed into Turkish airspace. ... Any future military flights will also be evaluated on a case-by-case basis." Read more.