OVER SEVEN million passengers passed through Larnaca and Paphos International Airports in 2007, a 3.94 per cent increase on 2006, and a new record for passenger traffic at Cyprus airports.
Figures for last year break the previous record set in 2005 of 6,781,643 passengers. Over 5.2 million passengers travelled through Larnaca airport in 2007, a 7.16 per cent increase on 2006.
In December alone, the two airports handled over 325,000 passengers, a 10.9 per cent increase on December 2006, as passengers flew in and out of Cyprus for the holiday season.
Bob Manning, Chief Executive Officer of Hermes Airports Ltd, commented: “We are delighted at this record passenger figure for 2007, which further demonstrates the attractiveness of Cyprus as a business and leisure destination. The key growth markets were Greece, Russia, Scandinavia, Austria, Romania, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. During 2007, significant positive developments took place for Cyprus airports, including new airlines, new services and major improvements to facilities at both airports.”
He added that last year, new flights from the UK and Ireland were launched by low cost carriers flymonarch, Flyglobespan and XL.com.
New flights and increased frequencies between Vienna and Larnaca were introduced by both SkyEurope and Austrian Airlines.
Low cost carrier Jazeera Airways launched new flights to Kuwait, and GB Airways introduced a significantly increased schedule of flights between London Gatwick and Paphos.
“This year will be a very exciting one for Cyprus as we open the new airport terminal in Paphos in November and welcome more new airlines, new routes and additional frequencies to our route networks at both Larnaca and Paphos.”
On March 15, Lufthansa will add three new weekly flights between Munich and Larnaca. Effective from March 30, CSA Czech Airlines will increase their frequency on flights between Prague and Larnaca; Royal Jordanian Airlines will launch a fourth weekly flight between Amman and Larnaca, and Gulf Air will add a fourth and fifth weekly flight between Bahrain and Larnaca.
From March 30, easyJet, with the purchase of GB Airways, will launch flights between London Gatwick and Paphos, and Manchester-Paphos, currently operated by GB Airways.
UK low cost airline, Flyglobespan will launch new weekly flights between Edinburgh and Paphos on April 1, while Jet2.com will launch twice-weekly flights between Leeds-Bradford and Paphos on May 4.
The first few days of 2008 have already seen announcements by British Airways of new daily flights between London Gatwick and Paphos – their second destination in Cyprus, commencing on July 1, and new flights with low fares airline flyMonarch between London Gatwick and Larnaca, commencing on March 19.
These are in addition to new flyMonarch services between Manchester and Larnaca, commencing on May 18 and increased flights between London Luton and Larnaca for summer 2008.
In less than a year, the new Paphos International Airport will open its doors to the public and “will mark the beginning of a new era for Cyprus and especially for the Paphos district. With the operation of the new terminal, Hermes Airports is aiming to provide a higher level of service to travellers to and from Cyprus and to the growth of the Cyprus economy, particularly the tourism industry.”
The new Larnaca International Airport will open a year later, in November 2009.
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HERMES AIRPORTS LTD
Larnaka International Airport, P.O. Box 43027, 6650 Larnaka, Cyprus
Tel: +357 24816400, Fax: +357 24643633, Website: http://www.hermesairports.com Page 2/3
