Istanbul flights resume

UPDATED: Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport began operating flights on the morning of June 29 following a terrorist shooting and suicide-bombings which left 41 people dead and 239 injured.
Flights had been suspended in the aftermath of the attack that took place on the evening of June 28.
Three attackers began shooting inside and outside the terminal late on Tuesday and blew themselves up after police fired at them, officials say.
Turkish Airlines, on its Twitter account, advised passengers on Wednesday morning: "Due to the busy schedules, passengers are kindly asked to arrive at Sabiha Gökçen and Atatürk airports earlier than planned."
It added: "Check in procedures have resumed at Ataturk Airport for domestic and international flights."
Ataturk airport, which handled an estimated 800,000 tonnes in 2015, is the home hub of Turkish Cargo, which operates a fleet of three Airbus A310-300 and eight A330-200 freighters.
On Wednesday morning, Lufthansa Cargo said a freighter flight had been re-routed but operations are now back up and running.
"Following last night’s terrorist attack at Istanbul’s Ataturk international Airport, Lufthansa reached out to make sure the Group’s passengers, crews and employees in Istanbul were safe and sound. According to the information received thus far all are out of harm’s way," a spokesman said.
"Following the temporary closure of the Ataturk Airport, Lufthansa’s Tuesday evening passenger flight from Frankfurt to Istanbul was cancelled, as well as the return flight from Istanbul scheduled for early Wednesday morning. Lufthansa Cargo had to re-route one freighter flight.
"Since early Wednesday morning, operations in Istanbul are up and running again. Lufthansa plans to operate all scheduled flights between Frankfurt and Istanbul today."
IAG Cargo said it had cancelled two flights – the BA675 from Istanbul to London Heathrow and the return BA677.
A spokesperson said: "Safety and security is always our top priority. We are keeping the situation regarding other scheduled flights to/from Istanbul under regular review and are awaiting more information from the authorities in Turkey. We will be in touch with any affected customers directly."
IATA chief executive and director general Tony Tyler expressed outrage at the attack.
"Once again, innocent travelers have been attacked in a cowardly and murderous act. Our thoughts are with the victims, and their families and friends," he said.
"The safety and security of passengers are our top priorities. This tragedy in Istanbul and the one in Brussels earlier this year show that there is a growing challenge for governments to keep people safe in the ‘landside’ parts of the airport.
"Moving people ‘airside’ more quickly can help to mitigate risk. The industry has a number of initiatives in place to achieve that aim and we are working with governments and airports to implement them."
Airports Council International (ACI) Europe also called for tighter security following the Istanbul attack.
Olivier Jankovec, director general ACI Europe, said: “Security is paramount and we the airport industry remain firmly committed to continuously improving the quality and efficiency of security measures. Airports are already among the most regulated spaces in this regard.
"What happened yesterday in Istanbul shows us that the real challenge now is to stop terrorists before they ever reach an airport or any other public space – I cannot reiterate enough, better intelligence and more effective information exchange and cooperation between the competent public authorities needs to become the highest priority.”