By a Staff Reporter
BRITISH Airways is to introduce its first direct Paphos-London flights from October, the airline announced yesterday.
The new twice-weekly service to Gatwick will complement the airline’s present service linking Larnaca and London.
The new route will be served by Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft with Club Europe and Euro Traveller cabins operated by British Airways’ franchise partner GB Airways, starting as a Wednesday and Sunday service from October 12, subject to government approval.
The new flights were announced at a news conference in Nicosia yesterday.
On Wednesdays, the flights will leave Gatwick at 9.15am, arriving in Paphos at 3.40pm, before leaving again at 4.45pm to arrive back at Gatwick at 7.30pm; on Sundays, they leave Gatwick at 1.30pm arriving in Paphos at 7.55pm, returning at 9pm. to land in the UK at 11.34pm.
“This is a really exciting development for the growing band of people travelling regularly between here and London,” said Vassilis Dallaris, British Airways Regional Manager East Med.
“By adding a service operated out of Gatwick, it will mean increased numbers of tourists brought to Cyprus.
“The service to Paphos also offers a choice of airports that will cut down the transfer time for many of our visitors who want to stay in that very popular region and want to use British Airways.
“It will be particularly good news for the British expatriates, many of whom have chosen to retire to live in and around Paphos. Same-day connections will be available to key UK domestic points from Gatwick”
Return fares on the route will start at £150 plus taxes, fees and charges. Both Club Europe and Euro Traveller cabins will offer the full British Airways in-flight service and feature a “moving map” showing exactly where the aircraft is on its route.
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.
