PREPARATIONS for the opening of the new airport at Larnaca have entered the final stretch for the big day on November 7, operators Hermes said yesterday.
In an interview with the Cyprus News Agency, Adamos Aspris, Public Relations and Communications Manager at Hermes said the fourth of seven trials has been completed. The final trial run will be on October 27 with 3,500 volunteers.
On completion of each trial a committee records and evaluates the data to determine correctional measures that must be taken, said Aspris.
Asked why Cyprus Airways and Easyjet would be the only two airlines flying out of the new airport initially on November 10, Aspris said this was to ensure a smooth transition. All other airlines will be using the new airport from November 17.
Cyprus Airways, Aspris said, was the national carrier and “for obvious reasons” it had the right to be the first one to enter its “new home” as it carries 35 per cent of passenger traffic, while Easyjet carries another 4-5 per cent. “This will allow us to have a smooth transition from the mock to the real time operation of the airport. The number of passengers these airlines carry will allow us to quickly draw conclusions on how the airport is operating and to promptly intervene if there is a problem,” Aspris said.
Aspris said the opening ceremony would start with a blessing, followed by an audio and visual presentation on the new airport and speeches by the chairman of Hermes, President Demetris Christofias, the Transport Minister and others.
There will also be a music and dance programme, depicting “a taste of Cyprus”.
Aspris said that the effort to move the entire airport was not an easy task. “However we are determined to succeed. We have succeeded last year in the case of the new Paphos airport and we will do it this year too, with Larnaca. We feel that we are working for the success of a grand project that belongs to every Cypriot. We feel that this is a gamble which we are determined to win”, he added.
The new airport building covers an area of 100.000 square metres and can serve 7.5 million annually.
It has 67 check-in counters and 15 airline ticket counters as well as16 air bridges. It boasts 11 remote stands, seven security screening positions and five baggage conveyor belts.
There are 2,200 parking spaces as well as assistance for people with reduced mobility.
The airport has a VIP lounge, a CIP room, retail, food and beverage facilities, car rentals, closed circuit television and immediate access to the motorway.
Head of Public Works Department Alecos Michaelides said the pace at which the airport was completed was unprecedented. “A project which costs more than 500 million euro was completed in three years. This has never happened before, in Cyprus”, he said.
Michaelides said the part of the old airport would be used for private jets and other services would continue there for a while.
“The old airport has served Cypriots during the hard times after the Turkish invasion. And we, as Public Works Department, have done more than we could to gradually upgrade and expand it, to keep it alive and in operation. Surely we are leaving with mixed emotions but we have to move on”, said Michaelides.
