Cyprus airports. Abandoned airport in nicosia nicosia international airport

: LCNC

Information Type

military (formerly civilian)

Location

Coordinates : 35°09′00″ s. sh. 033°16′38″ E d. / 35.15000° N sh. 33.27722° E d./ 35.15000; 33.27722(G) (I)

Owner Operator NUM height Map Location of the airport on the map of the island Runways

international Airport Nicosia(gr. Διεθνές Αεροδρόμιο Λευκωσίας , tour. Lefkosa UluslararasI HavaalanI; IATA : NIC, ICAO : LCNC listen)) is an international airport of the Republic of Cyprus, located west of Nicosia in the suburb of Lakatamia. In the past, it was the main airport of the island of Cyprus until the Turkish invasion in 1974, after which it was closed to reception. civil aviation. At present, the contingent of the UN Peacekeeping Forces in Cyprus is based in it.

History

The Nicosia airfield was opened in the 1930s and was initially used as an air base for the Royal Air Force, and right up to the present it formally belongs to the British Ministry of Defense. But in 1939, the Shell Company built an airstrip, which they began to use for landing their aircraft. In the same year, flights to Cyprus began the Arab airline Misrair. During the Second World War, American bombers were based here, which carried out the bombing of Romania.

Since 1948, civil aircraft flights to Nicosia Airport have been resumed, including Misrair, BOAC, Cyprus Airways and Middle East Airlines. In 1949, the first terminal building was erected, as the Nissen huts had previously been used. In 1959, the building was lengthened, but in 1968 a new building was built, and the old one was given to the local flying club. An expansion of the airport was planned for 1974, but the events that took place in July, culminating in the Turkish invasion, crossed out this plan. After that, flights to Nicosia airport were stopped. Latest passenger planes the airport departed in 1977 with UN permission, when British Airways took over the remaining three Cyprus Airways aircraft at the airport.

Write a review on the article "Nicosia (airport)"

Links

from the Great Circle Mapper website. Source: DAFIF (valid October 2006).
at NOAA/NWS
on the Aviation Safety Network



Civil

Military

Closed	Nicosia

An excerpt characterizing Nicosia (airport)

Ilya Andreich swallowed his saliva with pleasure and pushed Pierre, but Pierre also wanted to speak. He moved forward, feeling animated, not knowing what else and not knowing what he would say. He had just opened his mouth to speak, when one senator, completely without teeth, with an intelligent and angry face, standing close to the speaker, interrupted Pierre. With a visible habit of debating and holding questions, he spoke quietly, but audibly:
“I believe, my dear sir,” said the senator, mumbling his toothless mouth, “that we are not called here to discuss what is more convenient for the state at the present moment - recruitment or militia. We are called to respond to the proclamation with which the Sovereign Emperor honored us. And to judge what is more convenient - a recruitment or a militia, we will leave to judge the highest authority ...
Pierre suddenly found an outlet for his animation. He became hardened against the senator, who introduced this correctness and narrowness of views into the upcoming classes of the nobility. Pierre stepped forward and stopped him. He himself did not know what he was going to say, but he began animatedly, occasionally breaking through in French and expressing himself bookishly in Russian.
“Excuse me, Your Excellency,” he began (Pierre was well acquainted with this senator, but considered it necessary to address him officially here), “although I do not agree with the lord ... (Pierre faltered. He wanted to say mon tres honorable preopinant), [my esteemed opponent,] - with the lord ... que je n "ai pas L" honneur de connaitre; [whom I do not have the honor to know] but I believe that the estate of the nobility, in addition to expressing their sympathy and delight, is also called upon to discuss and discuss those measures by which we can help the fatherland. I believe, - he said, inspired, - that the sovereign himself would be dissatisfied if he found in us only the owners of the peasants whom we give him, and ... chair a canon [meat for cannons], which we make of ourselves, but would not have found co-co-counsel in us.
Many moved away from the circle, noticing the contemptuous smile of the senator and the fact that Pierre speaks freely; only Ilya Andreich was pleased with Pierre's speech, as he was pleased with the speech of the sailor, the senator, and in general always with the speech that he had last heard.
“I believe that before discussing these issues,” Pierre continued, “we should ask the sovereign, most respectfully ask His Majesty to communicate to us how many troops we have, what is the position of our troops and armies, and then ...
But Pierre did not have time to finish these words, when they suddenly attacked him from three sides. The Boston player Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin, who had long been known to him and was always well disposed towards him, attacked him most strongly. Stepan Stepanovich was in a uniform, and, whether from a uniform or from other reasons, Pierre saw a completely different person in front of him. Stepan Stepanovich, with suddenly manifested senile anger on his face, shouted at Pierre:
- Firstly, I will tell you that we have no right to ask the sovereign about this, and secondly, if the Russian nobility had such a right, then the sovereign cannot answer us. The troops move in accordance with the movements of the enemy - the troops decrease and arrive ...
Another voice of a man of medium height, about forty years old, whom Pierre had seen in former times among the gypsies and knew for a bad card player and who, also changed in uniform, moved closer to Pierre, interrupted Apraksin.

Nicosia is one of the few world capitals without its own airport. Rather, there is an airport, but it has been closed since July 20, 1974, when Turkish troops landed on the territory of Cyprus. The UN peacekeepers decided that the airport should not go to either side. As a result, time has stopped here.

Nicosia Airport has been the main one in Cyprus since the early thirties. On March 27, 1968, 6 years before the war in Cyprus, the most modern terminal for that time was built. More than a million pounds sterling was spent on construction. New terminal could simultaneously serve 11 aircraft and up to 800 passengers.

Aeroflot planes even flew here.

Acquaintance with the airport for me began with the control tower.

This is how it looked forty years ago.

And this is how it looks now. Time is merciless.

Despite the devastation, one gets the feeling that people left here quite recently. The iron boxes with maps, rusted for forty years, were obviously opened in a hurry.

The best view of the surroundings opens from the roof of the control tower, here was the radio operator's room.

From here I was able to film UN helicopters performing training flights over the airport.

You can also see the building of the new airport terminal from there. This is how it looked in the early seventies.

And so today. The windows are broken, the letters are crumbling, there are traces of shots.

On the sign standing in the middle of the hall - the inscription Tipping porters not allowed (do not tip porters). The last porter left here forty years ago.

For forty years only airplanes painted on the walls have been flying here.

The buffet kitchen hasn't smelled fresh food for forty years.

The main attraction of the airport is one of the two planes destroyed by Turkish troops - a Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident in Cyprus Airways livery.

Here it is in front of the terminal in the early seventies.

And this is what it looked like the day after the bombing. Damaged but not yet looted.

His colleague was much less fortunate. War is war.

As a result of the bombing, the entire fleet of Cyprus Airways, which at that time consisted of five aircraft, “landed”. The other two Tridents and BAC1-11 were less affected.

3 years after the war, British specialists repaired them (using, among other things, spare parts from destroyed aircraft) and they left the Nicosia airport on their own. By the way, this was the last flight from the airport. Today, one of the Tridents (in British European Airways livery) is in the Imperial War Museum, Duxford. BAC1-11 flew under the flag of Cyprus Airways until 1995.

The condition of the Trident at the Nicosia airport is clearly not a museum one - the salon is completely looted, the windows are broken, there are traces of bullets on the fuselage.

Another aircraft on the territory of Nicosia airport is a military Avro Shackleton MR.3 XF700. In 1962 he made emergency landing, the repair was recognized as unprofitable - the aircraft was used as a simulator.

As you can see, the war did not spare him either.

On August 29, 1973, a year before the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, a Czechoslovak Tu-104 flying in from Damascus rolled out of the Nicosia airport runway. No one died, but the plane was beyond repair. This is what the plane looked like the day after the accident.

The plane was bought by an enterprising Cypriot - they say that almost everything was ready to turn it into a restaurant, but the war prevented the plans. Today, the tail of the Carcass, on which the Czechoslovak flag is visible, is located in the zone controlled by Turkish troops.

Cyprus is one of the sunniest Mediterranean islands, so development here tourism infrastructure was inevitable. International Cypriot airport terminals receive guests around the clock - an endless stream of travelers stretches to the island of love. But people get to the south and north of the island by different routes.

We will tell you about the international airports of Cyprus and help you find them on the map of the island. We have to look inside the terminals, deal with transport links and lay the best route from Moscow.

List of airports in Cyprus

There are seven airports in Cyprus, which are focused (mainly) on the needs of civil aviation. Airport terminals are located in the following places:

Larnaca;
Pathos;
Limassol;
Nicosia;
Gechitkale;
Episkopi;
Erjan.

Note that the Nicosia airport has long been abandoned, so there is nothing to think about getting to the Cypriot capital by direct flight.

Gechitkale and Ercan are located in the northern part of the island, but only one of these airports receives international flights. Thus, the list of international " air gate» Cyprus is rather scarce - these are Ercan, Paphos and Larnaca.

Coastal airports and popular tourist destinations

The international air terminals of Cyprus are located in popular coastal regions, with regular transport links between them.

The main airport of the Republic of Cyprus is Larnaca, whose passenger turnover has exceeded the mark of eight million souls per year. Tourists from China, the United Arab Emirates, European countries, St. Petersburg and Moscow arrive in Larnaca. Direct flights possible all year round, charters from Russia are added in the summer.

Within reach of the airport are the main resorts of the country:

Protaras;
Ayia Napa;
Limassol;
Nicosia.

The distance to the listed cities from Larnaca is about 50 kilometers. Paphos is located 100 km from Larnaca, but it has its own airport.

Larnaca is the largest and youngest airport in Cyprus.

There is no railway connection in Cyprus, so you will get to nearby cities by wheeled transport. The options are:

regular bus;
rented car;
taxi (to the nearest resorts 50 euros, to Paphos - a hundred).

It is most convenient to go to Limassol - taxis stand right at the entrance to the terminal. Regular buses run constantly (the failure is observed only between midnight and three in the morning). A ticket to the same Limassol will cost you 8-9 euros. True, the path from the station to the tourist area is not close, so you have to pay another 15 euros for a taxi.

You can get to Ayia Napa from both Larnaca and Paphos. A good option is an Intercity taxi. Departing from Larnaca to Ayia Napa on a working day, you will pay 11.5 euros, on a weekend - 14.2 euros. From Paphos it will be more expensive - 30-35 euros. Intercity bus (from Larnaca) costs 7 euros. Car rental will cost approximately 40-50 euros / day.

The main thing tourist destination, associated with the Paphos airport terminal - this is, in fact, Paphos. The elite resort is within easy reach - a miserable 6 kilometers. Bus 612 runs between the terminal and Paphos. If you arrive at one in the morning, you will have to wait for the flight until seven in the morning. You can also get to the city by taxi - prepare for this 30 euros.

Cyprus airports on the map

It's time to do geographic research. Before the trip, you should carefully study the location of the airports. To do this, we have marked the key points on the map - you can independently estimate the distance to the selected resort.

The main tourist airports in Cyprus

So, you remember that the island is divided in two by the "green line" passing through the center of Nicosia. Therefore, we will consider the airports of the south and north separately. Everything best resorts from Cyprus sandy beaches. And we will start with an overview of the "air gates" of the Republic of Cyprus - Larnaca and Paphos.

Larnaca is the youngest and largest airport in Cyprus. It is not far to go to the nearest cities, but still we will mention the key distances:

Center of Larnaca - 5 km;
Ayia Napa - 46 km;
Nicosia - 49 km;
Limassol - 70 km;
Paphos - 139 km.

The airport is located southwest of Larnaca. The official website of the airport is located at www.hermesairports.com. At +357 24 816 400 you can contact the help desk. There is also an online scoreboard on which you can track the flights you are interested in.

Here is a list of Larnaca base airlines:

Cyprus Airways;
Aegean Airlines;
Eurocypria Airlines.

There is only one terminal at the airport, but the infrastructure is quite developed. There are car parks nearby, the building houses bars, cafes, souvenir shops and duty-free. You will also find a vip-hall, a business center, a tourist office, bank branches and a first-aid post. Everything you need is placed compactly, the organization is set to a high level. The speed, smiles, hospitality of the Cypriots are the distinguishing features of this small air terminal.

Now it's time to discuss the Paphos airport. In terms of congestion, it is considered the second after Larnaca. Paphos is focused on the elite beach holiday which not everyone can afford. Therefore, much fewer tourists come here. However, low passenger turnover does not affect the quality of services provided.

The terminal infrastructure includes:

cafes and restaurants;
the shops;
ATMs;
rental offices.

The only airport in Northern Cyprus is Ercan.

The main difference between the Paphos airport terminal is dominance charter flights. Paphos is connected with Russia by airlines controlled by Transaero. You can use low-cost flights ( good option- Ryanair), which have established regular flights to Europe.

The transport problem of Paphos is the lack of direct bus routes to neighboring resorts. Get ready to use the services of taxi drivers, they will cost about 20-70 euros (depending on the destination). You can find out more about this airport terminal by looking at their official resource - www.hermesairports.com. You can also view the online scoreboard here. Reference number: +357 24 816 400. There are only two base airlines in Paphos - Eurocypria Airlines and Cyprus Airways.

Within reach are the following cities:

Paphos (center) - 15 km;
Policy - 50;
Limassol - 63;
Nicosia - 146;
Larnaca - 129.

Ercan is the only way to Northern Cyprus

Most countries in the world do not recognize Northern Cyprus an independent state, so you will have to get there from Russia with transfers. The main airport of Northern Cyprus, which at the same time has international status, is Ercan. The airport is located near Nicosia - in the northeast direction from former capital. Ercan is modest in size, so you have to walk from the plane to the terminal.

When planning a vacation in Northern Cyprus, get ready to fly through Turkish territory. Transfer takes place in Antalya or Istanbul. Here we come to an interesting point. If you wish, you can fly to Northern Cyprus via Paphos or Larnaca. But if you arrived in Ercan, forget about penetrating south. The local Cypriots will consider this a violation of their legislation. You may have legal problems. You can bypass the system - put a stamp not in your passport (there is a special form for this, ask for it).

The following resorts are located near Ercan:

Nicosia - 13 km;
Famagusta - 40;
Kyrenia - 63.

Any information, including the online scoreboard, can be found on the official resource - www.ercanhavalimani.com. Reference number: +90 392 600 5000. The only company whose planes land in Ercan is Cypriot Turkish Airlines". The airport is connected with the nearest resorts bus service. You can use the services of taxi drivers.

Optimal routes for Muscovites

The most popular among our compatriots charter flights, the number of which increases sharply with the onset of the high season. Information about the rules for obtaining a visa to Cyprus for Russians, it is not difficult to obtain it.

Flights of Cyprus Airlines and our native Aeroflot fly to Larnaca from Moscow. Transaero aircraft fly between Paphos and Moscow.

It is worth noting that the Cypriot carrier basically goes around Turkish territory, so the journey can take up to 4.5 hours.
If you want to rush in three hours, trust your life to domestic cabbies.

Non-stop regular flights are organized from Domodedovo. In summer, Sheremetyevo joins the transportation. If you search, you can find a lot of offers from low-cost airlines. For only 12,000 rubles you can get to Larnaca from Moscow by JatAirways. There are also cheaper options:

Aegian- the cost of 11 thousand rubles, docking in Athens (rather lengthy);
airBaltic- the flight will cost you 10-11 thousand (change in Riga);
Orenair- direct charter for 12-15 thousand (flight duration - 3.5 hours).

You can fly from St. Petersburg to Larnaca with Aeroflot - in total, spend 16-18 thousand. There are others budget options- Transaero (15 thousand), UIA (12500) and S7 (the same).

You can get to Paphos from Moscow for 117-142 dollars. Departure points are Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports. Carriers - Transaero and C7. You need to fly to Ercan via Istanbul. Departure point - "Domodedovo".

Summarize. Russians easily get to Cyprus through three international airports, two of which are located in the southern part of the island, and the third in the unrecognized northern part.

Flying from Moscow is fast - about 3.5 hours (if there are no transfers). The cost will fluctuate between 12-18 thousand (round trip).

When planning a vacation in the north (TRK), do not forget about the political features of this territory. Have a nice trip!

you can find Additional information on the topic in the section.

As a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the island was divided into two parts. Many important buildings, cities and regions have since been abandoned and are slowly falling into disrepair. One of the most abandoned places on the island of Cyprus and the airport in Nicosia.

The airport in Nicosia was once the island's main airport. Located in the very center of the island, not far from the capital, it could receive all the planes arriving on the island. Its construction began in the 1930s. In 1939 the first main runway was built. The airport was owned by the British Army.

Initially, the airport was mainly used by the RAF, but soon after the concrete runway was built, regular civilian air service was started. After the outbreak of the war, it was suspended. During the Second World War, the airport infrastructure was expanded and the length of runways and taxiways was increased. In 1943-1944 the airport was used as a base for bombers attacking the Romanian oil refineries in Ploiesti.

After the war, civil air service to Nicosia was restored, but the airport itself was not quite suitable for handling civil traffic, due to the lack of a terminal. Its construction began only at the beginning of 1949. The work cost about £50,000 and was completed in May of that year. Over time, in order to cope with the growing passenger traffic, in 1959 they decided to increase the terminal. Then the airport in Nicosia received the official status of an international airport.

In the 60s, the flow of passengers associated with the development of resorts on the island increases more and more, and the airport in Nicosia is not able to serve such a flow of civilian and military vehicles. Therefore, in 1966, the Royal Air Force officially relocated its units to other airports on the island. This made it possible to begin the reconstruction of the airport, and build a new, much larger terminal.

On March 27, 1968, a new, modern terminal was opened, designed by the German company Dorsch und Gehrmann. The cost of its construction was 1.1 million pounds. The building could accommodate 800 passengers and take 11 aircraft. In 1974, an expansion was planned, but in July all plans collapsed due to a coup on the island.

The airport was closed to civilian traffic, and was used to receive Greek military aircraft, which provided support for the Greek revolutionaries. On July 18, a chaotic evacuation of tourists and foreign citizens from Cyprus was organized at the airport. As a result of the Turkish invasion, the airport in Nicosia became one of the main targets of the paratroopers. Already on July 20 they bombed and significantly damaged some of its buildings and infrastructure. After the fighting, the airport was assigned to the demilitarized zone controlled by the United Nations.

The airport was soon restarted in 1977 to evacuate three aircraft belonging to Cypriot Airlines. One of the Hawker Siddeley Trident remained at the airport, unfit for flight and the wreckage of the previously destroyed Avro Shackleton.

Some of the buildings on the outskirts of the airport were taken over by UN forces, who used them for their own use, but the terminal and most of the hangars and workshops were left to fend for themselves. The crumbling buildings quickly became an attraction for adventurers who managed to make their way to the remains of the old airport.

The loss of a major airport significantly affected its island economy. Therefore, already in 1975, one of the British military airfields in the south of the island was transformed into civil airport– Larnaca International Airport. In 1983, another airport was launched - Paphos International Airport.

The issue of an airport in Nicosia has been raised repeatedly, but despite discussions on this issue, no action has been taken. The main reason is the lack of need to restore the destroyed airport, while the island already has 3 new ones.