Ali Mahir Başarır condemns soaring airfares after Cyprus ferry disaster: “Why are we exploiting this?”

Ali Mahir Başarır says a ferry disaster off Kyrenia was followed by another source of anger: airfares to Northern Cyprus reportedly climbed as high as 35,000 lira.

Speaking at a news conference in Türkiye’s parliament, the YENİ Party parliamentary group deputy chairman said he and three other lawmakers traveled to the scene on the evening of Aug. 30, the day of the accident. They returned the next day to conduct detailed inspections with families and bureaucrats, he said.

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There are still 20 citizens missing. The sunken ferry is 550 meters below the sea.

Başarır said 20 Turkish citizens were still missing and that the sunken ferry lay 550 meters below the sea. He praised the speed of the boats and helicopters deployed soon after the accident, but said the crew had been arrested and the cause of the sinking still needed to be established.

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There are very serious allegations about the ship’s technical condition, the ferry’s previous accident, the restoration carried out afterward, and the claim that this ferry should never have been operating or carrying passengers.

He pointed to what he called serious allegations about the vessel’s technical condition, an earlier accident and restoration work afterward. He also cited survivors who told lawmakers they had repeatedly begged the captain to turn around, but that their warnings were ignored. Başarır said the YENİ Party would follow the investigation with retired Admiral Yankı Bağcıoğlu and other colleagues.

He then turned to the cost of reaching Northern Cyprus after the disaster. Başarır said he personally paid 27,000 lira for his ticket, while fares rose to 30,000 or 35,000 lira on the day of the accident and Aug. 31. He compared that with tickets from Istanbul to Diyarbakır, which he said cost about 3,000 lira for a journey lasting up to 1 hour and 45 minutes, while flights to Cyprus take about 50 minutes.

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We begged the captain, shouting, ‘Turn around, turn around, turn around,’ but he did not listen to us.

“Why are we exploiting this? Why do this on a day like this? I really cannot understand it,” he said. Başarır added that prices fell after he filmed and shared a video, arguing that airlines should have lowered them without public pressure. He said many ferry passengers work as taxi drivers or hotel employees in Cyprus and use the ferry because it costs 1,800 lira.

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Why are we exploiting this? Why do this on a day like this? I really cannot understand it.