“Before the end of 2016 Antalya expects to be visited by about 500 thousand tourists from Russia”, - told Munir Karaloglu the Governor of Antalya province to Russian journalists. "This year was recessionary for the tourism industry not only for Antalya region but also for the whole Turkey, and it concerns not only the lack of Russians.

More than 30,000 tourists from the Russian Federation flew to Turkey’s Antalya in the first 12 days after resumption of charter flights between the countries, the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) reported Monday with reference to Turkish media. "In the period from 2 to 14 September, in the first 12 days after resumption of charter flights to Turkey almost 31,000 Russian tourists flew to Antalya.

Russian Airlines are able to meet the recovering demand for flights to Turkey, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in an interview with TASS at the Eastern Economic Forum on Friday. "Taking into account the end of summer, tourist season, and the beginning of the new school year, I think that our companies will be able to mobilize a sufficient number of their aircraft in order to meet the recovering demand this year for flights to Turkey," the minister said.

Russian tour operators after the opening of charter transportation to Turkey noted the high occupancy of the first flights and period of record sales - reported in the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) on Thursday. "The demand was so high that in some regions we had to organize additional chain and to extend the terms of the flight programme.

“Tour operators “Anex Tour”, "Coral Travel" and "Pegas Touristik" announced the imminent launch of charter flights to Antalya (Turkey) from Belgorod” – informed "Interfax" the head of Belgorod airport press-service Vitaly Gorkovenko. The program, the consolidator of which is “Anex Tour”, will start on September 27.

Tour operators expect a high demand to Turkey in September and especially October. But the volume of the autumn-winter charter programme will depend on the situation in Egypt – the Head of “Coral Travel” PR company reported the "Interfax-Tourism" portal. "On Tuesday, September 6, we’ll launch the first regional flight from Samara, then from Nizhny Novgorod, St. Petersburg, Perm.

First charter flights with Russian tourists will fly to Turkey on September 4-5, Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia told TASS. "The first charter (flight) will fly on September 4-5," she said. Earlier on Monday, some media reported that the charter flights from Russia to Turkey for clients of the Intourist tour operator will start on September 2. But a manager with the tour operator told TASS that the tours to Turkey with a departure date of September 2 the company offers on its website imply regular, not charter flights. "We sell tours to Turkey, but these are regular flights by Turkish Airlines.

Russia’s Azur Air operator of charter flights plans to launch flights to Turkey’s Antalya on September 3, the carrier’s director for public relations, Anastasia Matyushina, has told Tass. She said the application for charter flights to Altalya was sent to Rosaviatsia (the Federal Air Transport Agency), and the reply is expected on Tuesday morning.

Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev signed an order to lift the ban for chartered flights between Russia and Turkey. The document is published on the government's website. The document also reads the air companies serving chartered flights between Russia and Turkey should provide additional security measures. Russian air authorities ready to provide necessary conditions The ban for chartered flights between Russia and Turkey is off, press service of the Ministry of Transport said on Sunday.

Some 15 Russian air companies are ready to resume chartered flights to Turkey as permission is in place, head of Rosaviatsiya Alexander Neradko told reporters on Saturday. "They are about 15 companies," he said. All the companies, which formerly served chartered flights to Turkey, would like to offer flights, he added.

First charter flights to Turkey may start not earlier than a week after lifting restrictions, the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) said in a statement on Wednesday. "Lifting restrictions from charter flight to Turkey requires a relevant government decree," ATOR said. "Preparation of the decree takes time.

Ankara is taking all necessary steps to ensure safety for tourists, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in an interview with First Deputy Director General of TASS, Mikhail Gusman, ahead of his visit to Russia. "At the moment, there are no problems in Turkey, especially in the tourist areas. We are taking all necessary steps in these areas. At the moment the seaside is safe," the Turkish president said. Erdogan also voiced confidence that cooperation with Russia in tourism will continue. "Tourism is bringing our peoples closer together. I am sure that our cooperation will develop in the future thanks to Russians' arrival ," he said. "Family ties of those coming from Russia to Turkey and from Turkey to Russia, those who get married give impetus to developing relations as well.".

Turkey has issued written guarantees it will painstakingly follow all of Russia’s recommendations regarding measures to guarantee the safety of Russian vacationers, Russian presidential aide, Yuri Ushakov, has told the media. Also, Turkey agreed to receive a group of Russian specialists to discuss the issue.

Russians’ enthusiasm in travelling to Turkey is gradually increasing, the press service for the Association of Tour Operators in Russia (ATOR) reported on Monday. "Despite the country’s unfolding developments, Russians’ demand for Turkey is growing," the press office said in a statement on the ATOR website.

Russia is lifting all restrictions on regular flights to Turkey as of July 22, the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) said in a telegram sent to air companies and tourism operators. "Attention! The heads of air companies and airports. In view of the fact that the Turkish side has provided guarantees of increasing air safety measures, Russia is lifting all the previous restrictions imposed on regular flights (to Turkey) as of 00:00 22.07.2016," the document, which TASS has at its disposal, said. Russia has received guarantees from Turkey that it would tighten security at Turkish airports, a source at the Russian Transport Ministry told TASS.

Russian tourist operators will start sending tourists to Turkey on June 23, Maya Lomidze, the executive director of the Russian Association of Tour Operators, told TASS. "Biblio Globus is opening its flight program as of July 23. So, the first tourists will fly as of that moment," she added. She did not clarify when other tourism operators were going to resume flights to Turkey.

Plans are underway to pull out Russian tourists from Turkey by July 28, Vice President of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, or ATOR, Dmitry Gorin told Life Internet portal. "All of them are currently returning as planned," he said. "We will finish transporting passengers, who were due to leave on July 16-17, by today or tomorrow.

A Turkish Airlines’ jet departed from Istanbul landed in Moscow. "This is the first flight from Turkey that landed in Moscow after the coup attempt," Customer Service of Vnukovo Airport told TASS on Sunday. Flight TK419 departed from Istanbul at 01.38 Moscow Time, according to Flight Radar web-portal data. It was reported earlier about 100 Russian tourists got trapped in Istanbul airport because of the attempted coup overnight to Saturday. Russia has currently limited flights to Turkey. However, Russian and Turkish air carriers may continue performing flights from Turkey, the Russian aviation authority said earlier.

Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tasked interested authorities to submit proposals on recommencement of charter flights between Turkey and Russia within a week, press service of the Government said on Friday. "The premier instructed ministries of transport, culture and foreign affairs to present agreed proposals on resumption of charter flights between Russia and Turkey to the Russian Government within the term of one week in cooperation with other interested authorities," the press service said. Special attention should be paid "to the need of taking extra measures of ensuring transport securities and excluding flights to areas with high terrorist threat," Medvedev said in the document. Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on sales of travel packages to Turkey and asked the Government to provide for cancellation of the ban on charter flights to Turkey on June 30.

Russia’s cabinet of ministers is addressing the issue of resuming charter flights to Turkey, Head of the Federal Agency for Tourism Oleg Safonov said in an interview aired by the Rossiya-24 TV news channel Friday, adding that flights may be resumed shortly. "The government is addressing the issue.

The flow of Russian tourists to Turkey will not be massive, as this country should do a lot to regain Russians’ trust, Sergei Korneyev, deputy head of the Russian Federal Agency for Tourism (Rostourism), has said. "I do not forecast the mass flow," he told reporters in St. Petersburg on Wednesday.

The average cost of travel packages to Turkey may go down by 20-30% after charter flights from Russia to the country are launched, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators (ATOR) Maya Lomidze said Monday. "According to preliminary estimates current prices will decrease by 20-30%," she said. Flights to Turkey are expected to be launched on July 7. On June 30, Russian President Vladimir Putin cancelled the ban on charter flights between the Russian Federation and the Turkish Republic by signing the amendments to the decree "On measures to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation and protection of citizens of the Russian Federation from criminal and other illegal actions and on the use of special economic measures against the Turkish Republic."

Turkey has not yet provided guarantees that vacationing in this country is safe, but Russians are not afraid of this, Maya Lomidze, the Executive Director of the Russian Association of Tour Operators (ATOR), told reporters on Monday. "The security situation in Turkey raises questions," she said. "So far, they [security guarantees] have not been provided.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry urges Russians to consider high terrorist threat risks in Turkey as they are planning their trips to that country, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. "I would like to emphasize that amid the persisting risk related to possible terrorist threats, it is necessary to approach extremely responsibly the issues of planning trips and visit places, carefully assessing the situation and possible dangers," the spokeswoman said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday instructed the government to take measures to cancel the ban on charter flights between the Russian Federation and the Turkish Republic. A relevant instruction is contained in the amendments signed by the president to the decree "On measures to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation and protection of citizens of the Russian Federation from criminal and other illegal actions and on the use of special economic measures against the Turkish Republic."