Atatürk airport, some fifteen kilometres from Istanbul city centre, was hit by a triple suicide bombing on 28 June (9pm Paris time, 10pm local time). At least 41 people were killed and more than 200 injured in the departures hall of the international terminal. The Istanbul hub nevertheless resumed operations the next morning, a few hours after the events. However, traffic remains disrupted this Wednesday morning. According to the dedicated page on the Turkish Airlines website, nearly 340 flights have been or will be cancelled to and from the international airport for the Turkish airline. For its part, Air France has cancelled two flights scheduled for the morning of 29 June from Paris CDG, at 10.05am and 12.35pm. The airport's overloaded website is limited to listing flight information, including a majority of delays and cancellations. Last year, Atatürk airport welcomed more than 61 million passengers...
In a brief message posted on its online portal, the Consulate General of France in Istanbul said: ".Explosions followed by gunfire at Ataturk international terminal. Avoid the area"He also gave the number of the crisis unit: +90 212 334 87 50. For his part, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, Jean-Marc Ayrault, declared "We call on our compatriots present in Istanbul to follow the instructions for caution issued by the Turkish authorities".
This latest attack is reminiscent of the Brussels attackson 22 March. At the time, it took almost two weeks for the operations cannot be resumed on 3 April at Zaventem airport. And more than a month before the airport returns to full capacity.
