Heavy snow has forced Turkish Airlines to cancel 142 flights to and from Istanbul today and tomorrow.
Most of the flights are internal but also include some international flights to destinations such as Lisbon, Valencia, Kuwait, Brussels and Munich.
The airline said: "The light snow that has been forecast around Istanbul on 30 December is expected to increase in severity on 31 December.
"For this reason, some journeys from Istanbul Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen Airports are cancelled and it is likely that there will be more weather-related problems on the same days.
"We request all our passengers to check the latest status of their flight before flying."
The expected heavy snowfall, icy conditions and possible blizzards have prompted the Istanbul Governor’s Office to urge local residents to avoid going outside unless necessary.
The extreme conditions are forecast to continue until early on January 2.
"It is vital for the elderly, pregnant women, children and people with heart and lung diseases to not go outside as medical staff recommended," said the governor’s office warning.
