Cyprus is located in the eastern Mediterranean and is the third largest in the region. The island has a rich history spanning over 10,000 years. It is small, but it has mountain ranges, salt lakes, and numerous beaches awarded the Blue Flag for cleanliness.
The capital of Cyprus is Nicosia, and other major cities are Limassol, Larnaca and Paphos. Larnaca and Paphos have Cyprus international airports. The country is considered a very popular tourist destination. Profit from tourism is the main source of foreign exchange in the budget.
Larnaca in the southeast
The largest airport in Cyprus is Larnaca. The new airport terminal building was opened in November 2009 and covers an area of 100,000 square meters. m, which allows you to serve 7 million passengers a year.
Larnaca Airport Services
The airport offers the following services:
- Reception
- ticket offices;
- retail trade in food and beverages;
- parking;
- car rental;
- free internet access;
- luggage storage;
- banks and exchange offices;
- travel assistance with pets;
- cafes, bars and restaurants.
The online aircraft arrival and departure display shows the number of flights, the name of the airline, destination and departure point, departure and arrival times, and flight status.
Check-in starts at least 2 hours before departure and closes 30 minutes before departure. Some airlines offer the option to check in your luggage online. Web check-in is available 48 hours before departure. Using the web check-in service, passengers significantly save time.
A number of airlines offer the possibility of Self-check-in, which allows you to receive a boarding pass out of turn.
In the reviews, tourists note that the airport in Larnaca, although small, but very convenient. It has all the basic services. In addition, there are no queues, and airport employees are friendly and smiling.
VIP for all travelers
The VIP lounge at Larnaca Airport is the perfect place to start your journey. The room has the following amenities:
- wide selection of hot and cold drinks,
- free alcoholic drinks
- coffee corner
- free hot and cold snacks
- Free newspapers and magazines
- access to the Internet,
- information screens.
The hall is open daily, the cost for an adult is 30 euros, for a child - 15 euros. Children should only be accompanied by adults.
In the reviews, tourists note that the airport in Larnaca is very convenient. It has all the basic services. Who doesn’t have any queues here, and the workers are friendly and smiling.
Paphos - Western Cyprus
Paphos is a historical city in Cyprus. There are so many archaeological treasures on its territory that it is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Paphos Airport in Cyprus is considered the second largest after Larnaca. This is a small airport where there is only one terminal. Passenger services include car parking, a first-aid post, cafes, restaurants and a duty-free shop.
Hermes Airports Limited has committed itself to the development and maintenance of Paphos and Larnaca airports for 25 years. The new terminal in Paphos was opened in 2008.
Paphos Airport Facilities
At Paphos Airport, passengers can use the following services:
- Reception
- 22 side parking
- 7 docking locks,
- restaurants and cafes
- gift shop,
- tourist agency,
- mother and baby room,
- health care,
- services for the disabled,
- car rental.
The online departures and arrivals board works on the official website joint with Larnaca.
Traveling with young children
Paphos Airport has all the amenities for those traveling with young children:
- changing rooms - clean rooms equipped with changing tables;
- place for breastfeeding.
Airport visitors can use any Wi-Fi enabled device to connect and download apps for children to entertain young travelers.
Tourists note that the airport is very conveniently located, there is all the necessary infrastructure. It is very clean and comfortable, here you can eat and relax.
Northern Cyprus: Ercan Airport
Ercan Airport is located in Northern Cyprus near the small village of Timvu. Since it is located on the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (a state unrecognized by most of the world community), it does not have official status of an international airport. All boards making flights from or to the airport must make an intermediate landing in Turkey. The stop lasts about 30–45 minutes, and, as a rule, there is no aircraft change. Baggage is already checked at Ercan Airport. Planned and charter flights from Manchester, Stansted and Heathrow airports are carried out through a stop in Turkey.
A bus runs between the airport and the major cities of Nicosia, Kyrenia, Morfu, Famagustai Lefua, and car rental is available.
Airlines flying to Ercan:
- Turkish Airlines - a Turkish carrier based in Istanbul;
- Pegasus Airlines - a Turkish budget company that provides charter flights in Europe and Turkey;
- AtlasJet is another Turkish carrier operating flights in Europe and Asia;
- OnurAir - performs charter flights from Europe to Turkish resorts;
- BoraJet is a private Turkish regional airline.
There is a duty-free shop on the second floor of the airport, offering cosmetics, perfumes, tobacco and alcohol products, drinks, and chocolate.
Cafes and Bars at Ercan Airport
- BreakPointCafe - here you can enjoy a cup of Turkish coffee in the fresh air.
- Gloria Jean's Coffees - located on the second floor, overlooks the runway, guests have free internet.
- Rioverde Coffee - a recently opened cafe, located on the ground floor.
- Simit Sarayi is a family-run confectionery restaurant.
- Burger City - Local fast food for a quick bite to eat.
- Crazy Chicken - A fast food restaurant.
- The Cacao - Snacks, Pizza & Pasta.
Which airport to choose
So, which airport in Cyprus to choose for arrival on the island:
- Larnaca is the main and largest airport serving the city itself and its surrounding areas.
- Paphos - located 6.5 km from the city, the country's second largest airport.
- Ercan is the airport of the partially recognized state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It does not have international status.
Cobalt and Cyprus Airlines are based at Larnaca Airport and transport to Europe.
Cyprus Airlines
The main national airline Cyprus Airways operates scheduled and charter flights to Europe, Russia and the Middle East. European, Russian and Middle Eastern air carriers fly to the island.
In the Northern Cyprus area, flights are operated by several airlines: Turkish Airlines, Pegagus Airlines, Cyprus Turkish Airlines. The planes of these companies fly to Ercan Airport from major Turkish cities.
Flights to Cyprus from Russia
Flights to Cyprus are charter and regular. From Russia, Aeroflot and Ural Airlines carry out regular flights to Cyprus. The low cost airline (low-cost airline) “Victory” also makes flights to the island. Airplanes from Russia do not fly to Ercan.
Flights Moscow - Cyprus to the airports of Larnaca and Paphos are a very popular destination.
A regular SU-2072 flight flies daily to Larnaca from Moscow. Departure at 10:35 Moscow time from Sheremetyevo Airport. After 3 hours and 50 minutes, the plane lands in Cyprus. Every day, Vobukovo Airport flies to Pobeda Airlines to Larnaca. From Domodedovo flights are carried out by "Russia".
Flights on the route Moscow - Paphos are operated by S7 Airlines. Departure time is 11:30, flight time is 3 hours 55 minutes.
You can fly to Cyprus from other cities of Russia: St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Krasnodar, Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod.
Tourists who want to relax in Cyprus buy tickets, which already include the cost of a charter flight. Regular flights are a bit more expensive, but the risk of delayed departure is minimal.
Charter flights are organized by tour operators, and tickets for them cannot be purchased at the airport ticket offices. Charter flights are profitable in high season, when regular flights can’t cope with a large flow of tourists. But such a ticket cannot be returned or exchanged.
The cost of a ticket for a regular economy class flight is about 300 euros; a business class flight costs from 800 to 1,500 euros.