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Turkey accuses US, UK of harming its economy

March 24, 2017 at 5:44 pm

Turkish Airlines flight takes off as a British Airlines flight is seen in the background [Alan Wilson/Wikipedia]

Turkish Minister of Customs and Trade, Bulent Tufenkci, said that the US and Britain’s decision to impose a ban on in-cabin electronic devices on flights departing from Turkey utilises security mechanisms to stifle Turkey’s economy.

The Turkish minister also added that the decision “coincides with the fast growth of the Turkish airlines on the European and global level, as it received the award for best European airline for the sixth year in a row. It also coincides with Turkey’s plans to open the third airport in Istanbul, which will be the biggest airport in the world.”

Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications, Ahmet Arslan, said Ankara would raise a complaint at the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regarding the decision, according to Turkey’s Daily Sabah newspaper.

 Read: UK joins US in banning electronic devices on flights from Middle East

The American authorities banned laptops and tablets from being carried in the cabins of fights on nine airlines from international airports in nine Arab countries, in addition to Turkey, out of fear of terrorist attacks.

The nine banned airlines and countries are Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and Morocco. London also made a decision including Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia.

Minister Arslan stressed: “We are also an ICAO council member. We will continue fighting against [the ban] in the ICAO. If you are afraid of terror, you should be afraid no matter where it comes from and take measures accordingly.”

Arslan said that his ministry sent a letter to the concerned parties in US demanding that it remove the ban on Turkey, noting:

Terror activities and terrorists are present in every corner of the world and the fight against them should be performed in synchronised coordination across all parts of the world