THE date for the final liberalisation of the skies over Cyprus might be brought forward from January 1, 2003, Communications and Works Minister Averoff Neophytou said yesterday.
Neophytou was addressing a debate organised by the Cyprus branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society in Nicosia last night on the future of Cypriot airlines in a liberalised environment.
He said full implementation of the European liberalised environment would happen with the island’s accession to the EU, which is set for January 1, 2003.
“This date may be brought forward if the efforts of the European Union for the establishment of a European Common Aviation Area materialise soon,” he said. “The European regulation will be applicable in this area, which will encompass not only the member states but also all of the eleven countries who are candidates for membership.”
Cyprus’ progress towards liberalisation has been moving very gradually as the government wants to give Cyprus Airways (CY) time to get its house in order to face the competition resulting from an open skies policy.
Full liberalisation means that any European carrier has unrestricted access to any route between or within countries of the EU.
Although more airlines have in recent years been granted licences to operate, CY is still protected on its most profitable routes.
Neophytou said that five airlines in addition to CY and its charter arm Eurocypria had already been licensed to operate as charter and/or scheduled airlines. He said the government was now in the process of designating these airlines to start scheduled flights to and from Cyprus to points not presently served by CY.
“It is our policy to proceed gradually and reach the required level of liberalisation by the target date, step by step, so that on the one hand the existing airlines get some more time to prepare. and on the other hand to allow new airlines to establish themselves and attain some reasonable strength,” he said.
“The era of extensive government intervention and protectionism belongs to the past. Competition is not a threat. It’s a opportunity for development and for providing better services to the public.”
Last year, total passenger traffic through Larnaca and Paphos airports totalled 6.3 million, 4.9 million of which came through Larnaca. The overall figure represents a 10.7 per cent rise over 1999.
“The liberalised environment which we are challenged to face presents a totally different picture from the strictly regulated one we are used to and which offers little or no choice to the consumer, indifferent service, high fares and no rights for passengers,” Neophytou said.
He also made reference to the role of the airlines themselves in a liberalised environment, saying it provided business opportunities and challenges, “which airlines old and new are called to exploit”.
“It is up to each one of them to estimate their relative strengths and weaknesses and plan their movements in the open market.”
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
