CYPRUS AIRWAYS yesterday acknowledged problems with flight delays which has put the airline bottom of the list in punctuality in 2006 but promised the situation would improve this year.
Commenting on a report from the Association of European Airlines (AEA), which showed constant delays in the last quarter of 2006, Cyprus Airways (CY) general manager Christos Kyriakides said several factors had contributed to the problem.
He cited the implementation of the company’s rescue package, which involved dozens of layoffs and also changes to schedules and operations that are designed to improve services in the longer term.
The report shows that over one quarter of CY flights to Athens were on average 53 minutes late arriving in the Greek capital. Similar figures applied in CY arrivals to Amsterdam while 42 per cent of the airline’s arrivals in Brussels were on average 66 minutes late.
One third of CY flights leaving Larnaca were 58 minutes late leaving the airport and 62 minutes late arriving there.
One of the biggest number of actual delays were recorded at London Heathrow with 54 per cent of CY flights arriving there 51 minutes late and 46 per cent of CY flights departing Heathrow 49 minutes late on average.
CY Manchester flights had the worst track record with 60 per cent arriving 100 minutes late on average and 67 per cent departing from there 100 minutes late.
“It is well known that 2006 was a difficult year for Cyprus Airways,” Kyriakides told reporters yesterday. “But we are confident that the measures being taken will improve the situation in 2007”.
Kyriakides said technical difficulties had also contributed to the problem as did problems with the functioning of Larnaca airport, particularly in the summer period.
According to the AEA December 2006 report the average delay of all aircraft out of Larnaca airport in the last quarter of the year was 63 minutes, a figure reflected in the delays attributed to CY flights. It was also the highest delay in minutes among Europe’s main airports, with Paris coming in a close second with 62 minutes delay on average. London Heathrow was 38 minutes.
Almost eight per cent of flights out of Larnaca airport were affected by on average 28 minutes delay in pre-flight preparation. Five per cent of all flights out of Laranca were delayed on average 78 minutes due to maintenance problems and over 10 per cent due to late arrivals, which arrived 45 minutes late on average.
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