Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport in Turkey has reopened after a wildfire forced its closure for several hours on Sunday, causing delays and cancellations.
Flights were grounded at 4pm on 29 June after a forest wildfire spread to residential areas.
A Pegasus flight from London was diverted to Dalaman, while an easyJet flight to London Gatwick, which was due to fly yesterday, was rescheduled for today. An easyJet spokesperson said affected passengers were provided with hotel accommodation and meals.
An airport spokesman said flights resumed at around 9pm local time on Sunday. However, a SunExpress service to London Stansted, which had been due to depart at 10.30pm, has been delayed by nearly 21 hours, according to the airport’s website.
A spokesperson from SunExpress told Travel Gossip: “Due to wildfires in Izmir, our flights that were due to depart Izmir at 16:40UTC and Stansted (to Izmir) at 21:40UTC on Sunday 29 June were delayed. Our team quickly made arrangements for all affected passengers to be accommodated at nearby hotels.
“The safety of our passengers and crew remains our highest priority. We are closely monitoring the situation and continue to take all necessary precautions. SunExpress regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers by this situation, which is beyond our control, and is working to minimise the impact.”
Jet2 and easyJet said their flights from Izmir are now operating as normal.
Travel Gossip has approached SunExpress and TUI for comment.
