Turkey, Greece reach deal on air corridor dispute

Transportation Minister Binali Yildirim briefing the press at Parliament on Thursday, said the agreement will go into force on Dec. 25.

The ministry sources reveal that Turkish air space will begin to be used over flights between Europe and the Far East with the agreement.

The majority of current flights between Europe and Far East follows the Greece-Aegean Sea-Greek Cyprus route.

The increased air corridors will increase transportation revenues to $1 billion more in revenue for Turkey. Current revenue obtained from planes using the existing two Turkish air corridors stands at $100 million.

Turkey has long been seeking to reach a compromise on the issue.

Under the newly-formulated deal, the duration of flights between Europe and the Far East will decrease by 40 minutes when the new air corridors are used.