Eurocypria seeks Turkish ban damages

AILING charter airline Eurocypria is looking to secure up to €8 million in damages because of a ban prohibiting it from flying in Turkish airspace.

Under the proposed scheme, Eurocypria would receive the cash by the government in the form of subsidies. But before doing so, the government must ask permission from the European Union, which forbids direct state aid to airlines.

However the airline believes it has a strong case to make with the European Union, since because of the Turkish ban, Cypriot planes are forced to take longer routes, thus prolonging flights and consuming more fuel.

“We are talking about compensation in the area of €7 to €8 million a year, per airline,” Neofytou said, adding that Cyprus Airways was also eligible.

Neofytou said he had received a pledge from the government that it would look into the possibility and take up the issue with the relevant EU authorities.

Earlier this year, Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis said Eurocypria was in dire financial straits and would seek loans to keep it afloat. Stavrakis said also that the airline was too important to the national economy to be allowed to go under, as it was responsible for bringing some 300,000 tourists to the island every year.

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.