Flying into south Cyprus for your summer holidays will soon be a much more pleasant experience, when the shiny new terminal at Paphos airport is completed later this year.
Paphos airport known locally as Pafos International Airport has long been a favourite with tourists and residents alike for its compact size and easy access to western Cyprus. One of the great pleasures of arriving at Paphos is stepping out of the plane to see the sunshine glinting on the sea beyond, and knowing your luggage and hire car are just a short walk away.
However, departures from Paphos airport are not always so pleasant. The popularity of the airport at Paphos has meant that it has long outgrown its limited check-in facilities, with long queues often snaking out into the sunshine of the arrivals car park!
However, the new owners of the airport, Hermes Airports Ltd, are constructing a new terminal that should make ‘change-over day misery’ a thing of the past. The new 20,000sqm terminal will boast 24 check-in desks, 3 baggage reclaim carousels, and 800 car parking spaces, a massive improvement on the space in the existing crowded car park.
In anticipation of the new facilities, Paphos airport has recently attracted extra flights from established airlines, such as the new British Airways daily flights from Gatwick, which start on 1 July. So, it will be even easier to fly to Cyprus for a week’s holiday or even a short winter break.
Last year, over 7 million passengers flew into south Cyprus’ two airports, with over 5.2 million of them arriving at Larnanca airport. The new terminal at Paphos Airport will boost its share of this impressive tourist traffic. To give the project an official seal of approval, and no doubt a reminder of deadlines, the Republic of Cyprus Minister of Communications and Works, Mr Nicos Nicolaides, visited Paphos airport this month. In March, Mr Nicos also visited the site of the new terminal at Larnaca airport, due to open on 11 November 2009.
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