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Istanbul / AFP
The first Russian flight carrying package tourists to Turkey since a diplomatic crisis erupted eight months ago landed on Saturday in the Turkish Mediterranean resort of Antalya.
The Rossiya Airlines plane touched down at Antalya’s international airport at around 0730 GMT, after President Vladimir Putin last month officially lifted restrictions on tourism to Turkey.
The Boeing 737-800 plane, flying from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport, was carrying 189 tourists, NTV television said.
Russia had banned the sale of agency tours to Turkey as retaliation for Ankara shooting down a Russian warplane in November on the Syrian border.
The move dealt a crushing blow to the Turkish tourism industry, which is hugely reliant on Russian tourists especially on its Mediterranean coast.