Russia's Aeroflot to Return Stranded Passengers From Istanbul on Monday

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's Aeroflot airline on Sunday said it will return by early Monday the ticket holders stranded in Istanbul due to flight cancellations after the thwarted coup attempt in the country.

"Aeroflot plans to operate flight SU2134 to Istanbul with no passengers on board. The return flight SU2135 departing Istanbul at 2:30am local time [23:30 GMT] on July 18 will carry passengers booked on…cancelled flights," Aeroflot said in a statement published on its website.

On Saturday, Russia's consul general in Turkey said that about 150 Russian nationals cannot depart from the Ataturk Airport in Istanbul to Moscow following the coup attempt.

Soon after the attempt, the airspace over the region of the Sea of Marmara in the north-western part of Turkey was closed for civil aviation and the Turkish Airlines company announced cancellation of all flights scheduled for Saturday. Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsia also suspended air traffic to Turkey.

The stranded passengers were due to fly on Saturday's flights SU2137 and SU2135, as well as Sunday's flights SU2135 and SU2137.

Another plane will take passengers out of Turkey later on Monday, according to the company.

The United Kingdom's British Airways airline resumed limited flights to Turkey earlier on Sunday.

"Our flights to Turkey have resumed but we continue to keep our flights to the country under review and will update this content with the latest information," the company said on its website.

British Airways canceled all its flights to and from Turkey on Saturday, as well as one flight on Sunday due to the unstable situation in the country.

The Turkish coup attempt was suppressed by early Saturday. Over 290 people have been killed and over 1,400 were injured during the events, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Around 6,000 people have been arrested, while Erdogan urged his supporters to remain in the streets.