Flights arrivals on the increase in the north

ARRIVALS increased by over 15 per cent at Tymbou (Ercan) airport last year compared to the year before. A total of 892,201 passengers arrived at the illegal airport in the north in 2007, compared to 749,685 in 2006. Departures also saw an increase with 900,769 passengers using Tymbou airport to fly out of the island in 2007, compared to 768,019 the year before.

According to statistics released by the ‘civil aviation’ office in the north, 7,751 flights landed in Tymbou last year, recording an increase of 1,257 compared to the year before.

Like the rest of the island, the airport recorded its peak movement in August with 99,082 arrivals and 100,013 passengers departing. In 2006, September saw the highest number of arrivals, 85,506, while August had the highest number of passengers leaving the airport with 88,866.

The upward trend was also witnessed in the number of flights landing at the airport. August proved to be peak season again, with 715 flights landing in 2006, and 752 the following year for the month of August.

The airport is used by Turkish Cypriot Airlines, Turkish Airlines and private companies AtlasJet and Pegasus, flying to eight different destinations in Turkey including Istanbul and Ankara. Flights from the north are also offered via Turkey to Heathrow, Stansted and Manchester airports in Britain.

The International Civil Aviation Organisation does not include Tymbou airport on its registry. According to the Foreign Ministry website, the ICAO’s position is that the Republic of Cyprus does not lose its sovereign rights over territory and the airspace above it as a result of military occupation.

Tymbou airport may not be internationally recognised but the figures speak for themselves. Traffic through the airport is on the increase. This has been a cause of concern for pilots in the past due to the lack of communication between air traffic controllers in the Nicosia Flight Information Region and Turkish or Turkish Cypriot controllers at Tymbou. There remains no communication between Nicosia and Ankara on air safety, something which pilots argue puts flight safety in the region at risk.

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.