ANKARA 

Turkey on Saturday announced the resumption of domestic flights as the country eases coronavirus restrictions and looks to restore normalcy.

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu said domestic flights will resume on June 1 as part of the normalization process after the months-long virus restrictions.

The first flights will be from Istanbul to major cities of Ankara, Izmir, Antalya, and Trabzon provinces.

Flights to other cities will resume gradually, the minister said.

COVID-19 recoveries have steadily increased in Turkey over past weeks, reaching 125,963 on Friday.

The country’s overall case count stands at 162,120, including 4,489 fatalities.

The pandemic has claimed over 365,300 lives in 188 countries and regions, with more than 5.94 million cases reported worldwide, including over 2.5 million recoveries, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.