German airlines, tour operators resume holiday flights to Turkey

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa and tour operators Thomas Cook AG and TUI resumed flights from Germany to Turkey on Sunday, where 200,000 Germans are on summer holiday, following the failed coup against President Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey widened a crackdown on suspected supporters of the military coup attempt, taking the number of people rounded up in the armed forces and judiciary to 6,000, and the government said it was in full control of the country and economy. Lufthansa has resumed flying to Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Bodrum, the company said on Sunday. Only a flight between Istanbul and Frankfurt as well as a flight between Munich and Ankara had been canceled, a spokesman for Lufthansa said. Lufthansa unit Eurowings has also resumed flights to Turkey. A spokesman for Thomas Cook AG said, "On Saturday and Sunday, the planes took off for Turkey, only a select few guests did not take their flight." A spokeswoman for TUI Deutschland said flights had resumed and of the 18,000 people currently on holiday in Turkey, only 30 had opted to come back early. Most German tourists are staying in and around Antalya. "It is a normal Sunday for us," she said. British Airways flights from Britain to Turkish destinations including Istanbul and Izmir also resumed on Sunday, according to the airline's website, after the firm canceled all flights to Turkey on Saturday. "We'll be flying a reduced schedule to Turkey today," a spokeswoman said. "We continue to keep our flights to Turkey under review." (Reporting by Peter Maushagen and Till Weber. Additional reporting by Costas Pitas in London; writing by Edward Taylor, editing by David Evans)