More than 617,500 people have been evacuated by planes from the quake-hit provinces in southeastern Türkiye since two strong earthquakes struck the region on Feb. 6, the civil aviation authority said Wednesday.
A total of 3,540 flights were operated for evacuating victims between Feb. 6 and Feb. 28, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (SHGM). Also, 292 flights were carried out for shifting humanitarian aid to the quake-hit provinces.
The directorate also coordinated 690 foreign aircraft carrying aid material to the region. It said Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, SunExpress, Freebird Airlines, Cortex Aviation, Corendon Airlines, Tailwind Airlines, Air Anka, Mavi Gok Airlines, MNG Airlines, ULS Airlines and ACT Airlines joined the rescue operations.
A statement issued by the directorate said that: "A total of 14,288,701 kilograms of cargo was transported on 292 flights to earthquake zones for humanitarian aid. In addition, flight permits were granted to 690 foreign aircraft for humanitarian aid purposes, and coordination procedures were carried out for their landings."
More than 45,000 people have lost their lives after the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes that hit 11 provinces and caused massive destruction in the country's southeast.
