Stay away from Turkey, Austria�s foreign office warns travellers

The Austrian foreign office has warned nationals not to travel to Turkey after widespread unrest in the country.

The first clashes broke out between demonstrators and police in Istanbul just one day after Turkish Airlines introduced a new direct line between Salzburg and Istanbul.

The fighting rapidly increased with several dead and injured being reported.

Now, Austria’s foreign ministry has warned people travelling to the country to avoid all large-scale gatherings because of “an increased safety risk.”

The Besiktas and Beyoglu districts of Istanbul are the worse affected by the protests.

But according to Alexander Klaus from Salzburg airport, Istanbul’s Kemal Atatürk airport is still safe as a transfer airport for connecting flights to other international destinations such as the Middle East or Russia.

“Only very few tourists have cancelled their flights so far,” he said.