Putin orders officials to help Russians return from Turkey

President Vladimir Putin has asked government officials to help Russian holiday makers return home from Turkey after a failed coup bid.

Russian airlines are currently not flying passengers to Turkey although they are repatriating vacationers back home.

“President Putin ordered the transport ministry and other agencies to properly inform passengers and organise their inbound flights from Turkish airports,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying Saturday by the Interfax news agency.

Putin also asked officials to provide everything necessary for tourists awaiting flights to Turkey in Russian airports “until the situation becomes clear.”

Russia’s civil aviation authority said Saturday that there would be no Turkey-bound flights “until the political situation has cleared up”.

National carrier Aeroflot has cancelled flights to Istanbul and Antalya on Saturday and Sunday.

Russia this month lifted a ban on package tours to Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologised for downing a Russian warplane on the Syrian border last year.

The head of the Russian tourism agency Oleg Safronov said there are around 5,000 Russians on holiday in Turkey at the moment.

The Russian foreign ministry said Saturday its consulate in Istanbul had set up a crisis centre to help support holidaymakers.