Paphos International Airport

The deal to hand over Larnaca and Paphos airports to Hermes Airports Ltd is nearly sealed, as the company moves toward securing financing from a bank for the second phase of development at both airports.

Airplanes arriving in Cyprus were about 85% full in May, with numbers continuing to climb, according to Maria Kouroupi, director of aviation development and communication at Hermes Airports.

Kouroupi told the Cyprus News Agency on Friday that about 41,000 passengers are passing through Larnaca and Paphos airports daily.

A wildfire in southwestern Cyprus has been brought under partial control, Kathimerini Cyprus reported Wednesday. The fire has damaged 14 houses and completely destroyed three in the Paphos region.

Passenger traffic at Larnaca and Paphos airports increased by 4.26% in May compared to the same month in 2023, according to Cyprus' Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works.

The ministry reported a total of 1,140,659 passengers between the two airports last month, marking a notable rise from the previous year.

Nearly 400 passengers traveling between Cyprus and Crete experienced delays and a good deal of hassle after gale-force winds caused their flights to be rerouted on Tuesday.

Both incidents concerned a Ryanair flight from and to the resort city of Paphos on the southwestern coast of Cyprus, state broadcaster ERT reported.

Cyprus is kicking off the tourism season this month with satisfactory arrivals and hotel occupancy rates for the Easter period.

A plane that landed at Paphos International Airport was struck by lightning on Tuesday, with reports saying Ryanair passengers were unharmed during the incident.

Ryanair announced on Tuesday it is cutting its seat availability from Athens by 22 percent this winter, and also criticized the government on its policy and Athens International Airport for its charges.

By Alexandra Kassimi

Aegean Airlines announced on Tuesday its expansion to Cyprus, with the aim of covering the gap created by the closure of Cyprus Airways, adding three more aircraft to its Larnaca hub and increasing the direct destinations served to and from Cyprus to 14.