Airports in Cyprus

There are two active international airports in Cyprus. The two airports are based in Larnaca and Paphos respectively and handle more than 7 million passengers annually between them. Many of these passengers are tourists, why the majority of the passengers travel through the airports during the holiday season from April to October.

Even though the summer season is the busiest season for the airports in Cyprus there are also plenty of flights that services a variety of destinations such as major European and Russian cities other destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean area. Most of these flights are serviced by the Cypriot national airline carrier Cyprus Airways or the Greek carrier Aegean, which have had scheduled flights to Cyprus since 2004, or one of their partners.

Larnaca international airport

Larnaca is the biggest airport in Cyprus. Both in terms of passengers and available destinations from Cyprus it significantly larger when compared to the airport in Paphos. The airport is located less than 5 kilometres outside of the coastal city Larnaca and is also close to other favourite tourist destinations such as Ayia Napa and Limassol. Larnaca airport is also the airport closest to the capital of Cyprus, Nicosia.

Larnaca airport was developed as a civilian airport in 1975 following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus and was upgraded with a new terminal building in 2009 with modern check in counters and departure gates.

Access to Larnaca airport

Unless you are travelling to or from the airport in a bus hired by your travel agency you will find that there are limited options to get to and from the airport in Larnaca. Most often you will find that a taxi is the superior option, unless you are able to drive yourself or catch a ride.

Scheduled busses and shuttle buses between Larnaca and the airport are available but lack the flexibility that you would like when you are heading to the airport or from the airport to your hotel.

Paphos International Airport

Paphos is the other international airport in Cyprus and is positioned on the Western Coast of Cyprus. It is significantly smaller than the airport in Larnaca and due to few scheduled routes there is a significant difference between arrivals and departures to and from Paphos airport when comparing holiday season numbers with the off season equivalent.

Paphos International Airport primarily services tourists that flies to Cyprus with the aim of holidaying in Limassol, Latchi or in Paphos and it’s surrounding cities.

Access to the airport in Paphos

Just as it is the case with access to and from Larnaca, the options for transportation to and from the smaller airport in Cyprus is limited. Although public transportation are available you will surely be best of by driving yourself or taking a taxi. It offers you the best flexibility and you won’t have to wait for someone else.

Hermes Airports

Both airports in Cyprus are managed and controlled by Hermes Airports, which is an international, French led consortium. Hermes Airports operates the airports under a 25-year agreement with the Republic of Cyprus. The company has brought significant investments to both the airports in Cyprus since they took over operations in May 2005. These investments has brought many other airlines to build hubs and increase their flights to Cyprus’ airports. The bankruptcy of Cyprus Airways in the early days of 2015 further enhanced the interest of other airlines.

The increase of planned flights to and from Cyprus is a great advantage if you visit Cyprus regularly or own property in Cyprus. If you have just falling in love with Cyprus (it happens to many) you should consider moving to Cyprus permanently or at least have a holiday home her. Check our page about properties for sale in Cyprus.

Other airports in Cyprus

Besides the abovementioned active civilian airports there is also an airport in Nicosia. It is located in the green zone between the Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus (or the occupied area as many Greek-cypriots calls it) and is no longer active. It has not been active since the Turkish invasion in 1974 and after the hostilities ceased the former airfield in Larnaca was hastily upgraded as a replacement to service international civilian flights.

Military airports in Cyprus

Currently there are two active military airports in the Republic of Cyprus and both lie in the British Sovereign Base Areas, which is still under British control after the Cypriot independence in 1960: Kingsfield Air Base and RAF Akrotiri. The former currently (December 2014) only serves as a helicopter base, whereas the latter is still in active use by the British Royal Air Force and has been involved in most of the British forces and their allies’ involvement in the middle east during the last many decades.