Filenews 13 June 2025 - by Natasa Christoforou
The explosive situation in the Middle East, which brought hundreds of passengers to Cyprus with 30 flights that were due to land in Israel, also mobilized hoteliers, mainly in Larnaca and Paphos.
As the president of PASYXE Larnaca, Marios Polyviou, told filenews, shortly after 10 a.m. on Friday, it was informed that about 2,400 passengers on board 16 flights that were diverted, 8 at Larnaca Airport and 8 in Paphos, had to stay in hotels.
"We were informed by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism that they are looking for hotels, through the Estia Plan, for the passengers of these 16 flights. They asked us to tell them our availability. In Larnaca there is very little availability, because the Israelis who were about to depart asked to extend their stay and their flights were cancelled. At the moment, occupancy in Larnaca reaches 90%. As soon as people start pouring into the hotels, they will be full," he noted.
The rapid developments in the Middle East and the closure of airfields have caused concern in the tourism industry, since if the tension escalates there will be cancellations. "We are waiting to see how the situation will develop. There is, at this time, no reason to panic. In the next twenty-four hours there will be a clear picture. Everything will depend on whether we have an escalation of conflicts," Mr. Polyviou noted, pointing out that there are many reservations by Israelis in Larnaca, but also in other cities.
