Greece says ‘Turkey kept its FM’s airplane in air for 20 minutes’

Click to read the article in Turkish

It is alleged that the government airplane carrying Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias from Iraq was kept in the air for an additional 20 minutes as Turkey delayed granting it right of passage.

As reported by Kathimerini, "the airplane requested clearance from Turkey's aviation authorities as it crossed the Iraqi border after setting off from Baghdad but had to wait 20 minutes for permission to be granted."

The newspaper has commented that "such a delay of a scheduled diplomatic mission that has received all the necessary permits in advance is considered uncommon and is being seen by Athens as a fresh provocation by Ankara" amid escalating tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.

CLICK - A brief summary of Eastern Mediterranean crisis

CNN: Ankara continues its 'war of nerves'

Based on the reports of state channel ERT, CNN Greece has commented that Turkey "is continuing its war of nerves."

According to the ERT reports, "the pilots  received the required permits from the authorities of Turkey, but as the aircraft approached the border, they refused to approve the overflight permit."

As a result, the aircraft was allegedly forced to circle over the area for about 20 minutes, a period during which "intense communications of the pilots of the aircraft with the Turkish authorities took place."

Statement by Turkey's Foreign Ministry

In response to the allegations, Hami Aksoy, the Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey, has issued a press release.

"The news alleging that the aircraft of Minister Dendias was kept on hold before entering Turkish airspace are intentionally misleading and are not accurate," Aksoy has said, adding that "the aircraft took off from Iraq without submitting the necessary flight plan. Aksoy's statement is as follows:

"An overflight permission was requested in order to carry the Greek Foreign Minister Mr. Nikos Dendias to and from Iraq on 14 October 2020, and the Greek side was promptly informed that the said permission was granted.

"Upon the technical failure of the said aircraft in Iraq, the Greek side allocated a second aircraft for Mr. Dendias's flight. Due to time constraint, Greek authorities were informed without delay that the aircraft in question was allowed to use our airspace with the same flight permit.

"The news alleging that the aircraft of Minister Dendias was kept on hold before entering Turkish airspace are intentionally misleading and are not accurate. The aircraft in question took off from Iraq without submitting the necessary flight plan.

'Our counterparts in Greece were informed'

"Flight plans are transmitted through the Eurocontrol system. It was also confirmed from this system that the flight plan was not transmitted.

"When the aircraft carrying Minister Dendias arrived at our airspace, the plan was urgently requested from the Iraqi authorities, and after the plan was received, the flight was carried out safely.

"Naturally, it is not possible for an aircraft to fly without providing a flight plan. In this case, it is first and foremost a necessity for the safety of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece. Our Greek counterparts were also informed about the issue." (DŞ/SD)