Filenews 25 March 2021 - by Adamos Adamou
The increase in flights and the number of tourists in our country is expected to be gradual, since of course the interest in bookings is also translated into arrivals, with the substantial recovery of passenger traffic being placed in mid-May.
This is apparent from statements by the relevant ministers, although the country typically opens for all its main markets from 1 April, the date when the airport operating plan and the new categorization of countries come into force to ensure that there is no quarantine for all EU countries and for a number of third countries of interest to Cyprus. , such as Russia, the United Kingdom, Israel, Belarus, the United States, Ukraine, etc.
The country's plans naturally depend on the course of the pandemic, both in Cyprus and abroad, but airline planning, as the Minister of Transport told the CYPE yesterday, already foresees an increase in flights to Cyprus. Giannis Karousos said that by the end of March flights from 50 to 60 per week that are today will reach 160, while from April they will increase to 240.
He, asked about this by the CYPE, said that there is interest "in the descent of tourists to Cyprus from Israel and other Arab countries and that there is also increased interest from airlines that want to strengthen their base in Larnaca with more planes and flights, because they consider that, according to the protocol that Cyprus has, stability is offered to their passengers but also to the companies themselves". He also said that this year there is sufficient connectivity in the country and that there will be flights to and from countries that did not exist in the past.
It is recalled, however, that Cyprus has already announced that it will offer facilities and in particular will exempt from the mandatory diagnostic tests provided for in the protocol for those from Israel who have been vaccinated with EU-approved vaccines from 1 April and from 1 May and from the United Kingdom. On the subject, Deputy Tourism Minister Savvas Perdios said similar facilities would be given to those who arrived from Russia, but once the Russian Sputnik V vaccine has been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Speaking during a visit he made the day before yesterday with G. Karousos to the marina of Ayia Napa, he even estimated that this would happen soon and that before 1 May there would be developments on the subject.
