Skopje International Airport

A Turkish Airlines (THY) aircraft carrying passengers from Istanbul to the southern province of Antalya has been struck by lightning shortly after takeoff.

After the THY flight for Antalya departed from Istanbul Airport on Jan. 29 at 9:25 a.m., the cabin crew promptly informed the control tower that the aircraft was hit by lightning.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime, GI-TOC, a Geneva-based NGO, published a report on Monday warning that Balkan airports are vulnerable to organised crime and that Belgrade and Skopje airports in particular are regional hubs for illicit activities.

Turkish authorities have arrested the captain of a plane that crashed earlier this month at an Istanbul airport killing three passengers, state-run Anadolu Agency said on Feb. 24.

Direct flights between the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and Greece are set to resume after more than a decade, amid a thaw in relations following a deal to rename FYROM "North Macedonia."