Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız was forced to abandon plans to fly to Arbil and land in Kayseri instead when the Iraqi government canceled permission for him to land in Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, daily Hürriyet reported.
The news of the cancelation reached Yıldız and his delegation while they were waiting at Istanbul Atatürk Airport for takeoff. Yıldız then opted to head for Baghdad first before continuing toward Arbil.
A delay in response, however, forced Yıldız to abandon either Arbil or Baghdad as a destination, causing the crew to land in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri instead.