Turkish airlines cancels flights to Crimea

Turkish Airlines has announced its flights between Istanbul and the city ofSimferopolontheCrimeanPeninsula will be cancelled until April 15.The airline had announced earlier on Monday that the cancellation would beeffective until June 17, but said in a statement later in the day that “due to theprevailing situation in the Crimean region, flights have been cancelled until April15”.The Turkish national carrier recommends that all passengers double-check theirflights on the airline's official website: turkishairlines.com, or by calling its callcenter on (+90 212) 444 0 849.Pro-Moscow forces took control of the Crimean Peninsula in late February.Following a referendum in the region, Crimea decided to secede from Ukraine andjoin Russia.Russian President Vladimir Putin has since signed into law the annexation ofUkraine's strategic peninsula amid criticism and sanctions from the European Unionand the U.S.