Filenews 29 August 2023
Flights to Cyprus airports were affected by the problem that arose yesterday in the air traffic monitoring system in the United Kingdom, with delays and cancellation of 6 flights for Larnaka airport and 4 for Paphos airport, which are expected to depart today.
In statements in Larnaca, during a workshop organized by the Association of Cyprus Tourism Enterprises (ACTE) and asked about the problem that arose in the United Kingdom, the Deputy Minister of Tourism replied that "the first information refers to a cyberattack from which the air traffic systems of Britain, Italy and other countries were affected, since these systems are systemic".
Unfortunately, he continued, "we were also affected by this problem, since we had some cancellations and significant delays in the number of flights."
"As the British and Italian governments have announced, the problem has been resolved and hopefully we will not have similar phenomena in the coming days and months," he said.
He also noted that "the British is the most important tourist market in Cyprus and unfortunately a large number of flights were affected by the problem that arose."
Maria Kouroupi, Senior Director of Communications at Hermes Airports, said: "The problem has been solved a few hours after its launch and flights from the UK have resumed. However, several flights to Cyprus and other countries were affected by the problem."
He added that "for Larnaka airport, a total of 24 flights were affected, of which six were cancelled but are rescheduled for today. Also, after the problem was resolved, several flights departed from UK airports which had been delayed."
He also said that "for Pafos airport, a total of 21 flights were affected, four of which were cancelled, but have been rescheduled to depart today."
"More than 7,000 passengers were affected by the problem created at several airports located in the greater London area," he said, noting that "we believe that in the coming days there will be a rescheduling of flights, since there has been a knock-on effect on airports."
Replying to an additional question on the issue, Kouroupi said that "no flights concerning Cyprus were affected by the problem that arose at airports in Italy".
Increase in arrivals and revenues
Besides, the deputy minister said that this year "there is a significant increase of 27% in arrivals and a significant increase in revenues of 34%".
"We expect this course to continue in September and until mid-October," he said and noted that "as the Deputy Ministry of Tourism we are monitoring the market minute by minute and trying for the best possible results."
Replying to another question, Mr. Koumis said that "tourism exhibitions in which we participate are continuous, but at the same time there are needs for regular communication with the protagonists of the global market."
In the second week of September, he said, "we will go to Finland and Sweden for contacts, followed by a visit to France at a very important exhibition."
He added that "the French market is an upward trend in recent years in Cyprus, while especially this year there is a significant increase, which we welcome."
"The French market is a market in which we expect to have even better results in the near future," he said.
Asked about this, Koumis replied that "on May 12, Cyprus signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with Greece and Lebanon, the three Ministers of Tourism are in communication and very likely in October we will have a joint meeting." "Cyprus always looks forward to reaping benefits from these partnerships," he noted.
For her part, Kouroupi said that "August looks like it will end as the best month of all time that we have ever had at Cypriot airports."
"We estimate that we will book around one and a half million passengers and these results are very good, since it seems that time is also moving above 2019 levels," he noted.
We believe, Kouroupi added, "that there is connectivity and it is a very good basis for how we move forward." "We are cooperating with all relevant ministries and the Deputy Ministry of Tourism in order to manage an extension of the summer season," he said.
CNA
