Turkey cuts economic ties with Israel, closes airspace to Israeli flights

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Friday that Turkey is severing all ties with Israel, including economic and trade relations. He added that the country will close its airspace to Israeli flights and that Turkish ships will no longer dock in Israeli ports.

Fidan’s announcement followed an extraordinary session of the Turkish Parliament, during which he sharply criticized Israel. He blasted Israel, calling the IDF operations against Hamas and Iran’s other terrorist proxies, “the clearest sign of a terrorist state mentality defying international order,” according to Turkey's official press agency.

Turkey’s move comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu acknowledged the Ottoman Empire’s genocide against the Armenian people during a podcast interview with American conservative host Patrick Bet-David.

According to Ynet News, Israel’s aviation authorities said Friday they had not received any official notification from Turkey regarding the closure of its airspace to Israeli aircraft. If such a measure is enforced, Israeli flights could face travel times up to two hours longer on routes to destinations such as Georgia and Azerbaijan. On Friday, Israir operated a scheduled flight to Batumi, Georgia, and reported that operations remained business as usual.

“Our flights are operating normally with no changes,” the airline said, adding that passengers would be updated on developments. 

An Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post that this is not the first time that Turkey has announced a severance of ties with Israel.

In May 2024, Turkey announced its intention to end all trade with Israel due to the ongoing war in Gaza. The Turkish foreign minister declared that the ban would be upheld until “Israel declares a cease-fire and allows humanitarian aid to reach Gaza uninterrupted.” 

The ban included Turkish export restrictions for 54 products, including construction materials, such as cement, steel, and iron, as well as jet fuel.  

Turkey is one of Israel's major trading partners, with the volume of imports from Turkey amounting to approximately $7 billion annually.

In January, the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations Board announced that Turkey may end the ban on trading with Israel following the ceasefire agreement.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Turkish port authorities have begun asking shipping agents to provide letters declaring that vessels are not linked to Israel and not carrying military or hazardous cargo bound for Israel.

According to the sources, “The harbor master's office had verbally instructed port agents to provide written assurances, adding that there was no official circular on the issue.”

Israel and Turkey have maintained free trade agreements since the mid-1990s, with bilateral trade reaching $6.8 billion in 2023. Although relations have been strained in recent years, the two countries restored diplomatic ties in 2022 with the reappointment of their respective ambassadors.