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