Turkey to suspend flights to Northern Iraq from Friday: statement

A Turkish Airlines plane is seen at Erbil International Airport, Iraq September 27, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey will suspend flights to the northern Iraqi cities of Erbil and Sulaimaniya starting on 1500 GMT on Friday, in response to a Kurdish independence referendum held earlier this week, the Turkish consulate in Erbil said in a statement. It also said work was going on to increase capacity of flights until Friday. The decision will impact Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, and Atlas Global flights. Shares of Turkish Airlines fell 4.7 percent, while shares of low-cost rival Pegasus fell 2.9 percent immediately after the statement. (Reporting by Dirimcan Barut and Ece Toksabay; Editing by David Dolan)