Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the country's parliament during a special session on August 29, 2025, that the government had severed all economic and trade ties with Israel, including banning its aircraft from entering Turkish airspace. However, Reuters later reported that the ban only pertained to government flights and flights carrying munitions to Israel; it would not cover transiting commercial flights.
"We have completely cut off our trade with Israel. We do not allow Turkish ships to go to Israeli ports. We do not allow their planes to enter our airspace,” Fidan said after the parliament adopted a resolution denouncing Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip as genocide.
Fidan accused Israel of not only creating a humanitarian disaster in Gaza but also creating wider regional instability due to its aggressive actions against other countries, including Syria.
ch-aviation analysis of Israeli flight routings shows that El Al Israel Airlines, Israir, and Arkia Israeli Airlines all continue to overfly Türkiye en route to various destinations in Europe and the Caucasus. There does not appear to have been any discernible change to the flight paths since Fidan's announcement. There is also no Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) issued that would restrict overflights.
Türkiye and Israel have had a strained political relationship for years. All direct flights between the two countries were stopped after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks against Israel and the ensuing invasion of the Gaza Strip. In April 2025, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines surrendered the slots at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion they still had, making their return to the market unlikely in the short-term.
