24/03/2021 14:28
Cyprus Airports are ready to welcome thousands of passengers and an increased number of flights as of mid-May, Transport, Communications and Works Minister Yiannis Karousos told CNA.
He said that many changes have taken place since last year to make passengers’ boarding easier and to expedite processes and controls and improving the cyprus flight pass. For instance, he added, a flight which arrived at Larnaca Airport on Sunday carrying 112 passengers was able to go through the covid-19 tests’ procedure on an average of 11 seconds per passenger.
By the end of March, flight arrivals will increase to 160 per week compared to 50-60 flights currently and in April this number will rise to 240, Karousos told CNA. Tourists are expected in mid-May since March and April are regarded as pilot flights “enabling us to see if all protocols are functioning properly”.
Karousos said that there is interest from Israel and other Arab countries as well as from airlines that want to strengthen their presence in Larnaca with more planes and flights because they believe that the protocol offered in Cyprus provides passengers and airlines stability. In addition, he said there will be flights to EU countries which did not have sufficient connectivity before, for instance, France while from 15th May, tourists from the UK will start arriving.
Asked about the Digital Green Certificate to facilitate safe free movement inside the EU during the COVID-19 pandemic, Karousos said Cyprus supports the Green Certificate and believes that the certificate will help with the free movement of citizens within the EU. However, this issue should be resolved by the end of June so that passengers can utilize it, he concluded.