CY’s Hellas Jet launch delayed

CYPRUS Airways (CY) has had to delay the launch of its Hellas Jet venture on the Greek airline market, which was due to begin operation tomorrow.

The company declined to comment on the delay, but it is believed CY has not yet obtained all of the necessary licences from the Greek authorities. Sources close to the company said yesterday they would have a clearer idea of the situation early in the week.

CY officials were in Greece two weeks ago for talks on obtaining the necessary licences and had enlisted the help of the Cyprus government to push Greek officials to move faster.

Hellas Jet, which will be 49 per cent owned by CY and 51 per cent by two Greek banks, Alpha and Omega, plans to operate Greek domestic flights as well as provide links between Athens and five European destinations — London Heathrow, Brussels, Paris, Amsterdam, and either Frankfurt or Munich. CY has already leased three Airbus A320s and hired 200 staff for the new airline.

Passengers from Cyprus would be able to use the new airline although the national carrier already serves the routes nominated except for Munich. The partners in the airline established Hellas Jet to capture a share of the expected increased traffic during the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Greece.

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.