Hestia Homes Blog » Airports

Flying to Cyprus

admin — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 07:27:18 +0000

Flying to Cyprus has never been easier, with a wide variety of flights to suit every budget and from many destinations in the UK and Europe.

Both the international airports at Larnaca (LCA) and Paphos (PFO) are getting a total revamp and being redesigned, rebuilt and offering many more and much better facilities than in the past. Visitors and residents experience of travel to and from Cyprus should improve greatly. A new passenger terminal at Paphos International Airport is scheduled to open in November 2008 and the new Larnaca Airport is due to open in November 2009 according to Hermes Airports Ltd, who now officially operates the two Cyprus Airports. The upgrade is being done under a rapid design and build contract and will offer “world class state-of-the-art facilities, with an emphasis on excellent customer services”. Both airports are having runways extended and passenger capacity is expected to be around 2.7 million per annum for Paphos and 7.5 million initially at Larnaca, increasing with demand to 9 million by 2013. Live flight information for both airports is now available on the Hermes official website. This handy featured is greatly appreciated by residents awaiting guest arrivals, as is the recent addition of Park and Fly facilities at both Larnaca and Paphos Airports.

Easyjet have recently taken over the BA franchise, GB Airways and this offers travelers a budget option, while Monarch have also started regular flights. Both Larnaca and Paphos are well served by a variety of charter airlines including the big names such as Thomas Cook, Thompson, XL and Olympic to name a few, together with the scheduled carriers, British Airways and Cyprus Airways. For those travelling from Scotland, Globescan offer some very good deals from Glasgow to Paphos.

On the continent, Lufthansa started a new route from Munich to Cyprus in March and Blue Air are now flying in from Romania. These additions to the regular flights from other parts of Europe such as Belgium, Malta, Italy and France means that the unique charms that Cyprus has to offer, are now even easier to reach.

For the regular traveller and those planning a holiday in Cyprus who want the freedom and enjoyment of their own apartment or villa, the best way to source and arrange your flights is to simply set 1 or 2 hours aside and trawl through the many website available!.. You can find a useful list of various airlines, flight search engines and travel companies on the Hestia Holidays website, visit; http://www.hestia-holidays.com/info.cfm#flights. In todays competitive travel industry, most carriers have electronic tickets which make booking via the internet very convenient – we hope this might help save a few pounds on getting to Cyprus, so you can come back more often or just have a bit more spending money!

LINKS;

(LCA) – to; http://www.hestia-group.com/news/2007/08/03/expansion-of-larnaca-airport/
Easyjet – to; http://www.hestia-group.com/news/2008/02/11/easyjet-flying-to-cyprus-%e2%80%93-more-cheap-flights-to-paphos/
Flying – to; http://www.hestia-holidays.com/info.cfm#flights

Easyjet Flying to Cyprus – More Cheap Flights to Paphos!

admin — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 09:15:04 +0000

*** Stop Press *** recently announced, low cost airline Easyjet is flying from London, Gatwick or Manchester, direct to Paphos, Cyprus.

Starting from 30th March 2008, you can benefit from great cheap flights to Paphos, Cyprus from London and Manchester with Easyjet. You can book quickly and easily online, using their website just select the airports and take advantage of their lower prices! Available already and for sale now – book early to avoid disappointment!

Generally considered great rates compared to other airlines, Easyjet, the low cost carrier will fly to Cyrus most days of the week, offering much more flexibility to holiday maker and frequent flyers to Cyprus.

Easyjet have acquired this route, amongst others from GB airways. Operating most days of the week, this is a huge benefit for Cyprus and the traveler who prefers to enjoy the privacy and advantages of their own holiday apartment or luxury villa in Cyprus.

Remember to find a property and check availability before paying for your flights! Searching for holiday accommodation with Hestia Holidays allows you to ‘reserve’ a property and block your chosen dates, free of charge, for 24 hours whilst you arrange your flights, time of work or co-travelers.

Easyjet Flights to Paphos, Cyprus has been long expected and overdue, considering the Cypriot origins of the airline’s founder, Stelios Haji-Ioanou.

To book your holiday in Cyprus and compare the cost of flights with various airlines please see a list of operators and carriers here.

EXPANSION OF LARNACA AIRPORT

admin — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:10:22 +0000

Larnaca Airport is the bigger of the two commercial airports in the Republic of Cyprus, the other being at Paphos in the west of the island. It is the principal international gateway to the island with a single passenger Terminal, consisting of two large main Terminal buildings, and a larger rear building housing the arrivals hall.The current airport consists of a single large apron for all aircraft. The existing Terminal has no boarding bridges, and all passengers are transferred by bus between aircraft and the Terminal. This is all set to change when the new airport is completed. The airport also possesses a large engineering hangar, a cargo terminal and other facilities including airfuel storage and delivery plus provision for handling light aircraft.

Larnaca Airport was hastily developed in 1974 after the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey in the summer of the same year and the enforced closure of Nicosia International Airport. The site on which it was built had been previously used as an airfield by the British in the 1930′s. The airport opened in February 1975 as a prefabricated set of buildings comprising a departures and arrivals hall and a control tower. The first airline to use the new airport was Cyprus Airways which operated Viscount 800s leased from British Midland. The initial runway was too short for jet aircraft. Cyprus Airways pre-existing fleet of Hawker Siddeley Trident 1 and 2s had been destroyed on the ground at Nicosia Airport by Turkish Air Force bombings. The second operator to start flights to Larnaca was Olympic Airways using NAMC YS-11s.

Larnaca Airport is often used as a hub by passengers traveling between Europe and the Middle East, and Cyprus’s status as a major tourist destination means that numbers have steadily risen to over 5 million passengers a year. This is double the capacity the airport was first designed for. As such, a tender was put out in 1998 to develop the airport further increasing its capacity. Already completed elements of the expansion include a new control tower, fire station, runway extension, and additional administrative offices. The surrounding road network was improved by upgrading the B4 road and by completing the A3 Motorway.

A new Junction has been constructed near to the new Terminal. The Terminal itself will be rebuilt some 500-700m West of current facilities, adjacent to the new control tower, with new aprons and jet ways. The old Terminal building is to be partially demolished and refurbished as a cargo centre.

The Concept Architectural design was developed by French Architects at Aéroports de Paris with SOFREAVIA in France. Detail and Tender design was carried out in Cyprus with local Architectural Office FORUM ARCHITECTS and a large engineering team under the coordination of ADP. A large amount of controversy spurred by the local media surrounded the granting of the contract when it was put out to tender. A consortium led by BAA and J&P construction quickly pulled out when it did not receive assurances from the Cypriot Government that it would receive financial compensation in the event that Direct Flights were allowed between the Turkish occupied north of the island and the rest of the world. The contract was eventually hastily granted to the next best bidder, the French led ‘Hermes’ Consortium. This too, was not free of controversy, causing legal challenges by BAA and J&P, adding further delays to the project.

A €650m upgrade of Larnaca and Paphos airports has started and represents the first Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project for Cyprus. The international tender was won by Hermes Airports, a French-led group. The consortium is made up of Bouygues Batiment International (22%) Egis Projects (20%), the Cyprus Trading Corporation (a local retail group -10%), Iacovou Brothers (a local contractor-10%), Hellenic Mining (10%), Vancouver Airport Services (10%), Ireland’s Aer Rianta International (10%), Charilaos Apostolides (a local construction company – 5%) and Aeroport Nice (3%).

Hermes is building new passenger Terminals and extending the runways at both airports under a 25-year concession. Larnaca’s first phase (due for completion in 2008) will serve 7.5m passengers a year.The arrivals hall was expanded in February 2006 adding two luggage belts bringing the total up to six, a smoking area, and a larger lounge. This was done as a ‘stopgap’ measure to better enable the airport to handle passengers until a new terminal is completed on a nearby site.

A second phase, due to be completed in 2013, provides for the expansion of the Terminal to cater for 9m passengers a year, and for a 500m runway extension. The design for the new 98,000 m2 Larnaca terminal includes 16 boarding bridges and is intended to reflect the proportions of a medieval aqueduct located in the city.