Turkiye will fine airline passengers who unbuckle before the plane stops

Turkiye will fine airline passengers who unbuckle before the plane stops
A Turkish Airlines plane takes off from Istanbul Airport near the Black Sea shores, in Istanbul. (AP)
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Updated 28 May 2025
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Turkiye will fine airline passengers who unbuckle before the plane stops

Turkiye will fine airline passengers who unbuckle before the plane stops
  • The updated rules came into effect earlier this month
  • Turkish media reports have said fines of up to $70 will be imposed

ANKARA: Airline passengers in Turkiye who unbuckle their seat belts, access overhead compartments, or occupy the aisle before their plane has fully stopped now face fines under new regulations issued by the country’s civil aviation authority.

The updated rules, which aim to enhance safety and ensure a more orderly disembarkation, came into effect earlier this month. They were adopted following passenger complaints and flight inspections indicated a growing number of safety violations during taxiing after landing, according to the Turkish Directorate of Civil Aviation.

It is not unusual in Turkiye for passengers to stand up or move inside the cabin soon after the plane has landed, often leading to chaotic disembarkation.

Under the new regulations, commercial airlines operating flights in Turkiye are required to issue a revised version of the standard in-flight announcement to remain seated, warning that violations will be documented and reported, according to a circular issued by the aviation authority.

Passengers are also reminded to wait for those in front of them to exit first instead of rushing forward.

The circular does not say how much passengers who disregard the regulations could be fined, but Turkish media reports have said fines of up to $70 will be imposed.

“Despite announcements informing passengers of the rules, many are standing up before the
aircraft reaches its parking positions and before the seat belt sign is turned off,” the aviation authority noted.

“This behavior compromises the safety of passengers and baggage, disregards the satisfaction and exit priority of other travelers,” it said.

There have been no immediate reports confirming that the newly introduced fines are being enforced.

Turkiye is a popular travel destination, drawing millions of tourists every year.


Israeli officials to hold ceasefire talks in Washington amid military escalation in Gaza

Israeli officials to hold ceasefire talks in Washington amid military escalation in Gaza
Updated 14 sec ago
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Israeli officials to hold ceasefire talks in Washington amid military escalation in Gaza

Israeli officials to hold ceasefire talks in Washington amid military escalation in Gaza
CAIRO: Israeli planes and tanks struck heavily in north and south Gaza on Tuesday, destroying clusters of homes, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s confidant was in Washington, expected to discuss a possible ceasefire.
Thousands of residents again took flight as Israel issued new orders to evacuate, while its tanks pushed into eastern areas in Gaza City in the north and into Khan Younis and Rafah in the south, residents said.
Local health authorities said strikes had killed at least 20 people, with clusters of houses reported destroyed in Gaza City’s Shejaia and Zeitoun districts, east of Khan Younis and in Rafah. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
Ismail, a resident of the Sheikh Radwan suburb of Gaza City, told Reuters that freshly displaced families were setting up tents in the road, after fleeing from areas north and east of the city and finding no other ground available.
“We don’t sleep because of the sounds of explosions from tanks and planes. The occupation is destroying homes east of Gaza, in Jabalia and other places around us,” he said via a text message, asking that his surname be withheld for his security.
Israel’s Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, a confidant of Netanyahu, is in Washington this week to meet with officials at the White House, Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters at a press briefing on Monday.
Dermer would be exploring possibilities of regional diplomatic deals in the wake of Israel’s 12-day war with Iran last month, as well as ending the Gaza war, according to an Israeli official.
Netanyahu is due to travel to Washington next week and meet Trump on July 7, a US official said. The two leaders are expected to discuss Iran, Gaza, Syria and other regional challenges, an Israeli official in Washington said.
Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said pressure by Trump on Israel would be key to any breakthrough in stalled ceasefire efforts.
“We call upon the US administration to atone for its sin toward Gaza by declaring an end to the war,” he said.
After a six-week ceasefire at the start of this year, talks on extending the truce have been stalled.
Palestinian and Egyptian sources with knowledge of the latest ceasefire efforts said that mediators Qatar and Egypt had stepped up their contacts with the two warring sides, but that no date had been set yet for a new round of truce talks.
Hamas says it is willing to release all remaining hostages only as part of a deal that would end the war. Israel says the hostages must go free, and the war can end only when Hamas is disarmed and no longer ruling Gaza.
The war began when Hamas fighters stormed into Israel on October 7, 2023, killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took 251 hostages back to Gaza in a surprise attack.
Israel’s subsequent military assault has killed more than 56,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry, displaced almost the entire 2.3 million population and plunged the enclave into a humanitarian crisis.

Dubai aims to beat the traffic with 2026 Joby air taxi liftoff

Dubai aims to beat the traffic with 2026 Joby air taxi liftoff
Updated 2 min 44 sec ago
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Dubai aims to beat the traffic with 2026 Joby air taxi liftoff

Dubai aims to beat the traffic with 2026 Joby air taxi liftoff
  • Joby hopes its air taxis will ease pressure on existing ground transportation and offer travelers a faster alternative as Dubai faces increasing congestion

DUBAI: Dubai commuters may soon have a new way to skip traffic: air taxis.
Joby Aviation conducted the first test flight of its fully-electric air taxi in the emirate this week, a major milestone in the city’s efforts to integrate airborne transport into existing mobility networks as early as next year.
Joby hopes its air-taxis will ease pressure on existing ground transportation and offer travelers a faster alternative as Dubai faces increasing congestion.
“We want to change the way people commute,” Anthony Khoury, Joby’s UAE General Manager, said.
A journey from Dubai’s main airport DXB to Palm Jumeirah aboard the Joby Aerial Taxi will take roughly twelve minutes, the company predicts, as opposed to 45 minutes by car.
While Joby’s long-term ambition is to make its aerial taxis “affordable for everybody to use,” Khoury says, they acknowledge early pricing will likely target higher-income travelers. “As with any novel technology, early days might be a bit more premium.”
The demonstration flight was held on Monday at an isolated desert site southeast of Dubai’s downtown and was designed to emulate a typical aerial taxi journey, according to Joby Aviation officials.
In a ceremony attended by senior government officials, transport executives and company representatives, the experimental aircraft executed a vertical takeoff, flew for several miles, and then returned for a vertical landing.
The Joby Aerial Taxi, the flagship electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developed by the California-based company, can fly distances of up to 160 kilometers (100 miles) at speeds reaching 320km/hr (200mph).
Fully electric, with zero operating emissions, Joby’s air-taxi is designed to be both eco-friendly and quiet enough for commercial use in dense urban areas.
“It will be flying in the city, next to residential areas, and hopefully people will barely notice it,” Khoury said. While eVTOLs such as Joby’s have been hailed as the future of urban air the industry still faces major hurdles — including securing regulatory approval and developing sufficient vertiport infrastructure.
Morgan Stanley downgraded Joby’s stock price target from $10 to $7 in April, flagging near-term execution risks and broader aerospace industry concerns, including tariffs and supply-chain issues. Joby is currently trading at $10.55.
In early 2024, Joby signed a contract with Dubai’s Roads and Transit Authority that awarded the company exclusive rights to operate aerial taxis in the city for the next six years.
The company plans to inaugurate the emirate’s commercial air-taxi service in 2026, with four initial vertiports located at Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Downtown and Dubai Marina.
“In aviation, you don’t see transformations like this,” said Didier Papadopoulos, Joby’s President of Original Equipment Manufacturing.
“Every once in a while, you have this propulsive move into the future. What you’re witnessing here is really exciting, and I’m excited for you to be riding this one point in the future.”


Former Israeli defense minister expresses regret for civilian deaths in Iran, Gaza

Former Israeli defense minister expresses regret for civilian deaths in Iran, Gaza
Updated 01 July 2025
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Former Israeli defense minister expresses regret for civilian deaths in Iran, Gaza

Former Israeli defense minister expresses regret for civilian deaths in Iran, Gaza

DUBAI: Former Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz expressed regret over civilian casualties in recent conflicts, saying he mourns the loss of life on all sides, Al Arabiya English reported. 

"I'm very sorry for every Iranian civilian that was killed, just as I'm very sorry for every citizen in Gaza who is being killed," Gantz said.

His comments come amid continued violence in Gaza and following a tense standoff between Israel and Iran. Gantz is one of the few senior Israeli officials to publicly acknowledge the suffering of civilians on both sides of the conflict.

 


Turkiye arrests 120 in opposition bastion Izmir

Turkiye arrests 120 in opposition bastion Izmir
Updated 46 min 39 sec ago
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Turkiye arrests 120 in opposition bastion Izmir

Turkiye arrests 120 in opposition bastion Izmir

ISTANBUL: Turkish police have arrested 120 city hall members in the opposition bastion of Izmir, local media and the CHP opposition party said on Tuesday.

A former mayor and numerous "senior officials" were among those detained, Murat Bakan, the vice president of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which has run the country's third-largest city for years, wrote on X. The arrests came three months after a similar operation in opposition-run Istanbul.


PKK disarmament process to begin early July: report

PKK disarmament process to begin early July: report
Updated 01 July 2025
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PKK disarmament process to begin early July: report

PKK disarmament process to begin early July: report
  • The pro-Kurdish DEM party, which has played a key role in facilitating contacts between the jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government, said it was likely to happen in the second week of July

ISTANBUL: Militants from the PKK will begin laying down their weapons at a disarmament ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan in early July, the Kurdish media outlet Rudaw reported on Monday.
The move comes just six weeks after the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) announced it was ending more than four decades of guerrilla warfare in a conflict that claimed over 40,000 lives.
Turkey's Kurdish minority is hoping the PKK's decision will pave the way for a political settlement with Ankara that will herald a new openness to the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 85 million.
The pro-Kurdish DEM party, which has played a key role in fa cilitating contacts between the jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan and the Turkish government, said it was likely to happen in the second week of July.
"It seems these developments are likely to happen next week," Sezai Temelli, vice president of DEM's parliamentary group told lawmakers on Monday.
He said a delegation of DEM lawmakers was planning to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "on July 8 or 9 after which they would visit the political parties then go to Imrali" -- the island where Ocalan has been jailed since 1999.
Last week, Erdogan also said he would meet the DEM delegation in the coming days.
"We are pleased with the progress made in a short time by the work towards a terror-free Turkey," he said after the weekly cabinet meeting on Monday, using Ankara's shorthand for the peace process.
"Recent events in our region have confirmed how accurate and strategic a step this process is," he said of Turkey's efforts to rebuild ties with its Kurdish minority as the Middle East undergoes seismic changes triggered by the Gaza war.

Citing two sources in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Rudaw said the move would be both a "trust-building step" and a "goodwill gesture" to advance the reconciliation process with Turkey.
According to the sources, the ceremony would take place in Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan's second-biggest city.
Most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade in the mountains of northern Iraq, where Turkey also maintains military bases and has carried out frequent operations against Kurdish fighters.
"Between July 3 and 10, a group of PKK members, probably numbering between 20 and 30, will lay down their weapons in a ceremony to be held in Sulaimaniyah," Rudaw said.
The sources said Ocalan was expected to issue a new message regarding the resolution process "in the next few days".
"After that, the disarmament process will officially begin," they said.
Quoting one of the sources, Rudaw said that after laying down their weapons, the militants would "then return to their bases, unarmed", denying reports they would be held in certain cities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
"The guerrillas will return to their bases after disarming. It is out of the question for them to go to any city," the source said.
Until now, there has been little detail about how the dissolution mechanism would work but the Turkish government has said it would carefully monitor the process to ensure full implementation.