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New Turkish provocation over the Aegean

June 30, 2003 (by Lieven Dewitte) - Two Turkish F-16s harassed a commercial plane of the Greek express courier company "Veravia". The propeller cargo plane had taken off from Athens' "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport and was en route to Larnaca Airport in Cyprus.
The incident took place southeast of the southern Aegean island of Rhodes at noon today. The two Turkish fighter jets approached the Greek cargo plane at a distance of 5 nautical miles, while the safety limit is at 10 nautical miles.

The pilot of the Greek plane informed the control tower at "Eleftherios Venizelos" International Airport. The Greek Air Force and the Foreign Ministry were also informed about the incident.