TURKISH MFA CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR DIRECT U.S. -

C O N F I D E N T I A L ANKARA 004886 SIPDIS DEPT PASS TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT PARIS FOR TSA BRUSSELS FOR TSA/FAA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/27/2014 TAGS: EAIR PREL CY TU SUBJECT: TURKISH MFA CONTINUES TO PUSH FOR DIRECT U.S. - NORTH CYPRUS AIR LINKS REF: A. STATE 181043 ¶B. HALL/SIROTIC 8/25 EMAIL Classified By: (U) Classified by DCM Robert Deutsch, E.O. 12958, reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d). ¶1. (U) This cable contains an action request in para 6. ¶2. (SBU) Emboffs met with MFA Deputy Director General for Maritime and Aviation Affairs Vakur Gokdenizler on August 26 to share current USG thinking on establishing air services between North Cyprus and the United States (ref A). We provided an overview of USG civil aviation requirements concerning safety, security and economic authority and the ways in which our Open Skies agreement with Turkey could be useful in allowing airlines, such as Kibris Turkish Airlines, to establish service. Emboffs also related that Embassy Nicosia had recently contacted North Cyprus authorities to relay this background and obtain aviation points of contact. ¶3. (SBU) Gokdenizler acknowledged that there would be some small symbolic value to linking existing U.S.-Turkey and Turkey-North Cyprus flights, but said that this falls far short of Turkish expectations for direct U.S. ) North Cyprus air connections. &The whole thing is symbolic,8 he said, and the symbol the GOT seeks is a direct U.S.-Ercan flight. He opined that state-owned Turkish Airlines (THY) would be a better candidate for direct service than the smaller Kibris Turkish Airlines, and implied that, once the U.S. side was ready to approve such an arrangement, the GOT could direct THY to begin such flights on relatively short notice. He did not address the question of whether such flights would be commercially viable. Even a flight once every week or ten days will provide the symbol the GOT seeks, he said. Gokdenizler reiterated GOT interest in a THY codeshare on North Cyprus flights with a U.S. airline, and raised Ercan Airport,s lack of an airport code and its listing in FAA,s website as an &illegal8 destination. ¶4. (C) Gokdenizler questioned the U.S. political will to move ahead with direct flights. We told him the U.S. is determined to end the isolation of the north, to include opening the way for direct flights. We emphasized the complexities of this process. Gokdenizler was unconvinced, telling us &if there is the political will, this is easy.8 ¶5. (U) Gokdenizler also posed several questions: -- Would it be possible to establish a direct flight from a U.S. airport to Ercan without a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) assessment of Ercan Airport? The flight would return to the U.S. from a Turkish airport, rather than directly from Ercan. -- If THY were to pursue ref A possibility of repackaging (assigning a single flight number, for example) existing flights between the U.S. and Turkey and between Turkey and North Cyprus (no direct U.S.-Ercan connection),would it need to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation for economic authority? -- Is codesharing between THY and U.S. airlines on service to North Cyprus possible? ¶6. (SBU) Action Request: Embassy requests Department response to MFA,s questions in para 5. If U.S. authorities would require written communication from the GOT or THY to pursue these ideas, please provide proposed language which we can share with the GOT. EDELMAN