AEA deeply shocked by the Ataturk Airport attacks

The Association of European Airlines expressed its deep shock at the attacks on innocent people at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport. “Our thoughts are with the victims and their families, with our friends at Turkish Airlines and with the Atuturk airport community”, says AEA’s CEO Athar Husain Khan.

Three months after the Brussels Airport attacks, the European aviation industry has once more been hit by acts of terrorism at an airport, resulting in significant loss of life. Once again the attacks took place in the ‘landside’ public part of an airport, this time at Turkey’s most important airport which serves as a global connector between Eastern and Western cultures.

“Air transport was created to bring people together, to enhance social cohesion, prosperity and economic development”, says AEA’s CEO Athar Husain Khan. “It is outrageous that an industry that contributes so much to our overall well-being is the target of such cowardly acts.”

Our thoughts go out to the victims and their families and friends. The Association also stands with the Ataturk Airport Community and with its member airline Turkish Airlines, which suffered the loss of several staff members.

Despite the shock and the challenges in the aftermath of the explosions, the air transport sector once more demonstrated its resilience by re-opening Ataturk airport in less than 24 hours.