New flights for Paphos

By Bejay Browne

LOW-COST airline NIKI will begin flights from Vienna to Paphos from March next year, expanding its stake in the Cypriot market.

The airline has been operating a similar flight connecting Larnaca and Vienna since late January this year.

The new route will be operated by the airline, also known as flyNiki, which was founded by Formula One racing legend Niki Lauda in 2003. He sold his stake to fellow shareholder airberlin in 2011.

The twice weekly flights will connect Paphos airport with Vienna, opening up even more routes to Cypriot travellers.

Nassos Hadjigeorghiou, head of the Paphos regional board of tourism, welcomed the move saying it will have a positive impact on the town.

“Flyniki’s presence in Cyprus and expansion to Paphos will attract tourists from Austria, as well as Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hannover, Munich, Berlin and Zurich; as well as other markets such as Rome, Milan, Helsinki and so on. The new operation will connect Paphos to numerous destinations and expand Paphos Airport’s international network.”

Niki is the fastest growing airline based in Austria and the scheduled flights to Paphos every Tuesday and Thursday will be available to purchase at their website www.flyniki.com .

The Paphos tourism board said the new route will add a capacity of around 12,000 seats. The inaugural flight is due to take place on March 15, 2015.

Hadjigeorgiou said: “This development will boost the arrivals especially from the areas that are served by the well established and sophisticated network of the airberlin group.”
Germany and Austria are high priority markets for Paphos, he added.

Local tourism board representatives met with the management team of the airline to discuss various ways to support the new routes. These include PR activities, advertising campaigns, sales promotion and others.

“Both parties have agreed to cooperate closely and set up a promotional plan for Cyprus and overseas.”

Although NIKI is often described as a low-cost option, it provides full on-board service, including free refreshments, newspapers and baggage.

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.