Press Releases

Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to personally welcome all of you to Cyprus. Due to the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, this is a welcome opportunity for us to all meet up again and we thank Mr. Christos Petrou and the Flight Safety Foundation for his kind invitation. 

I would like to welcome Mr. Giancarlo Buono, European Regional Director of IATA, to Cyprus, who is here to share with us his valuable experience regarding the challenges and opportunities for Air Transport restart in Europe, in light of the Covid-19 pandemic which has created new challenges for all stakeholders in the aviation industry. As such, it is imperative that we all remain committed to tackling these challenges collectively. Air-connectivity has suffered greatly due to the measures taken to combat the spread of the virus and as a result, air traffic has dropped to levels that pose a problem for all states but in particular, for islands such as Cyprus, which rely heavily on aviation.

The Republic of Cyprus remains as always, committed to the strategic relevance of air connectivity for the European tourism and travel-sector. Air transport is an integral part of the tourism industry which in turn is a major pillar of the country’s economy. A contributing factor to this growth is the regulatory framework implemented within the European Union and the “Open Skies” policy implemented by the Government of Cyprus in its relation to third countries. The purpose of the “Open Skies” policy is to improve connectivity with third Countries by pursuing the liberalisation of existing Agreements and arrangements or by concluding new ones. This is achieved through negotiations with third countries.

In 2020, Larnaka and Pafos International Airports jointly handled a total of 2,312,697 passengers, in comparison to 11,273,748 passengers in 2019. The Government of Cyprus has sought to tackle this discrepancy in traffic-numbers by adopting the following measures:

An incentive Scheme fully funded by the Republic of Cyprus and addressed to all airlines, has been implemented with the aim of re-establishing the connectivity of the island. The duration of the scheme was from June 2020-December 2020 and has been extended until 31 December 2021.

Based on this, for the period of July 2020-June 2021 the government of Cyprus has facilitated investments of approximately €3.4mil, in connectivity schemes and policies to support the aviation sector. The extension to 2021 is expected to provide aid of €8.8 million as an Incentive Scheme towards airlines.

A loan of €22.2 million to Hermes Airports Ltd, the operator of Cyprus' Airports, has been granted as a measure undertaken by the Cyprus Government to remedy the serious effects on the economy resulting from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic and the subsequent restrictive measures taken both at a national level and in other countries (Member States and others) have significantly affected the revenue and cash- flow of Hermes Airports Ltd. This loan will allow Hermes Airports Ltd to meet its financial obligations under the Finance Agreements and ultimately its obligations under the Concession Agreement. Therefore, the measure is essential in order to ensure that Hermes Airports Ltd will be able to continue operating and managing the two airports and ensure the avoidance of air-traffic and/or mobility and connectivity disruptions.

Finally, I am certain that we will all benefit from the opportunity given to us today to meet in person and to discuss the common challenges faced by aviation and tourism during the past two years.

Please accept my best wishes for a very fruitful meeting.

Thank you for your attention. 

(AT)