Minister pays a visit to smooth out Larnaca airport’s bumps

COMMUNICATIONS and Works Minister Nicos Nicolaides yesterday paid a visit to Larnaca Airport to get a feel of the difficulties being experienced, especially by the ground services.

The minister was prompted into taking action following a recent incident where thieves made away with the keys to the Swissport stair trucks – the stairs used for passengers to board and disembark planes.

“I want to stress that this action is completely unacceptable; it is an action that turns against a specific company that works at the airport,” said Nicolaides.

He added, “It is an action that turns against our airports and our country. The message that needs to be sent is that the police are investigating the incident and will not stop until they find the mindless culprits behind this stupid and extremely dangerous act”.

Asked to comment on the many problems being faced by the airport’s ground staff and the fact that not much has changed compared to last year, Nicolaides said his ministry along with Civil Aviation Authority had exercised extreme pressure and close observation on the airport, “and this will continue because the good operation of our airports concerns us as a country, especially during an international financial crisis”.

But he said this required collective efforts and co-operation from all parties involved.

“This has started to become clear for the managing company and ground services, and this is a good thing because only through co-operation can we deal with the problems and offer a service that applied to a modern state,” said the minister.

Either way, Nicolaides said he was satisfied the airport was prepared to deal with the peak tourist season in August.

“We are here a few days before the peak season to see how ready we are to deal with it,” said the minister.

“Everyone is vigilant, from the airport’s managing company, to the ground services to the Civil Aviation Department. I am expecting everyone to do what they must to ensure there are no problems during the peak period of August.”

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