NEW airport landing charges will be implemented as of April 1, bringing Cyprus into line with EU directives.
The landing charges had been slashed in the wake of the September 11 attacks in an effort to make Cyprus a more competitive destination. According to the Commissioner for Public Aid, they should have returned to their original levels last April, but were kept down because of the Gulf War.
From next month, however, planes will again be charged for landing at Larnaca and Paphos airports, raising concern among members of the Hoteliers’ Association PASYXE.
The President of PASYXE, Zacharias Ioannides, told the Cyprus Mail that they were not against the government’s decision to restore landing charges and that they appreciated that Cyprus had to follow EU directives.
But he was unsure how this would affect the island, which has always been a popular tourist destination, especially among the British and Germans.
“The government’s decision to cancel discounts based on the number of flights coming to Cyprus, will in theory make Cyprus a less attractive tourist destination to travellers, as fares will inevitably go up,” said Ioannides.
He stressed this would also hinder the larger airlines that have frequent scheduled flights to Cyprus. “For example, Cyprus Airways, who have more flights arriving on the island, benefited a great deal from the reduction in airport landing charges,” said Ioannides.
The hoteliers’ chief added the government had to find alternative methods to keep people wanting to come to Cyprus.
The actual amount airlines will be made to pay in airport landing charges will be determined by the maximum take off weight of each plane.
“Until now, if one airline had 500 flights per year arriving in Cyprus, they enjoyed a reduction of 15 per cent in their landing charges. If they had 700 flights then they had a discount of 20 per cent and so forth,” explained Ioannides. “As of April 1, airline companies with flights to Cyprus will no longer be able to enjoy the luxury of reduced landing charges.”
Ioannides said his association had one main concern. “We are worried that the money gained from airport landing charges will remain in the state’s fund. We would like to see the money go towards attracting more charter flights to Cyprus,” said Ioannides.
Cyprus Airways spokesman Tassos Angelis said yesterday he was aware of the government’s decision to put an end to landing charge discounts, but said he had not yet had time to review the matter.
