Turkish Airlines resumes Indonesia flights
A Turkish Airlines aircraft seen at Istanbul Airport. (Photo courtesy of IGA)


Turkey's flag carrier Sunday resumed flights to Indonesia that were suspended March 20 due to the coronavirus.

Turkish Airlines will initially operate two flights per week.

Its first scheduled flight between Istanbul and Jakarta left at 10:05 a.m. local time. The airlines, however, did not announce when it'll resume flights to the popular tourist destination of Bali.

Passengers will be required to have a rapid COVID-19 diagnostic test three days before a flight or a PCR test seven days before departure, according to Indonesian authorities.

Turkish Airlines had conducted a special flight on June 18 to evacuate Turkish citizens from Indonesia amid the coronavirus pandemic.

After more than three months of suspensions due to the pandemic, the carrier resumed international flights as of June 11.

Last week it restarted flights to Italy and Bulgaria as well as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Under the current rules, Turkish citizens cannot enter the EU unless they are close relatives of an EU citizen, long-term residents of the EU, or work in the health care sector.

Turkish Airlines is strictly following regulations related to the virus outbreak, such as maintaining social distance during check-in and boarding, measuring fever, wearing face masks at all times, distribution of hygiene kits and air sterilization with HEPA filters.