Cyprus Mail 1 July 2021 - by Andrew Rosenbaum
Ryanair on Thursday announced that six new routes are being added to its summer schedule from Paphos.
The new routes are to Bologna, Bari, Corfu, Marseille, Rhodes, and Venice.
Speaking at a press conference at Paphos airport, Ryanair DAC Marketing Director, Dara Brady said that the airline had 34 routes in total from Paphos and 114 weekly flights.
“Ryanair is very committed to Cyprus, and we are proud to announce our largest summer schedule yet.”
Ryanair maintains its two routes from Larnaca and is seeing traffic build from that airport as well.
Brady expects summer traffic to soar throughout the peak summer months of July and August.
He noted that the incident in which a Ryanair plane was illegally forced to land in Belarus has had no effect on the airlines operations. “It was unfortunate, but happily was brilliantly handled by the crew and we have had no repercussions since.”
Deputy Minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios congratulated Ryanair for its expansion in Cyprus, and said that the airline is working closely with the ministry.
The incentive scheme offered by Cyprus to airlines is helping to keep them flying at capacity, Perdios noted.
Perdios pointed out that the people flying from EU and third countries are not forced into quarantine if they have vaccination certificates or follow the testing protocols.
“This has kept country open for tourism and given a stable framework to airlines, Perdios added.
Now that the EU Digital Certificate is in force, and available in Cyprus, people from all over Europe can travel with confidence, he pointed out.
Flights from Russia which have been restarted recently are increasing, and passengers are coming from both major and regional airports as well, Perdios noted. “We expect a steady increase throughout the summer,” he added.
Brady pointed out that Ryanair continues to be the lowest-priced airline in Europe, with the average fare at €37 as opposed to €43 for WizzAir.
And Ryanair is not charging fees for flight changes regardless of the delay, and plans to continue this policy until December.
“To celebrate the official launch of the Cyprus summer schedule, we are releasing seats for sale with fares available from €19.99 for travel until October, which are available to book until midnight, Saturday July 3,” Brady said. He warned that these are selling out quickly.
