Filenews 3 January 2026 - by Dora Christodoulou
The request for the provision of compensatory measures to the communities or areas adjacent to airports, is back in the news with actions that the municipal and community authorities are currently preparing in the wider perimeter of Paphos airport. Revealing information from Filenews states that the Municipality of Ierokipia, within the boundaries of which the airport is located after the change of the map of the Local Government, has already requested and received from an expert house a relevant study on the compensatory benefits it must receive due to the operation of the unit.
Based on what the experts' study contains, the request of the municipal authority is based both on the significant burden from the surge in passenger traffic at Paphos airport in recent years, and on the ongoing expansions to the airport facilities that are considered to be taken for granted to further affect the wider area.
The study raises specific issues regarding the nuisance caused by traffic congestion in departments of the Municipality of Ierokipia, such as Timi and Achelia, affecting the air quality from the fuel of hundreds of aircraft and others.
The recent formalization of the record in aircraft and passenger traffic at Paphos Airport strengthens the request, local bodies estimate, pointing out in particular that due to the refusal of state departments to facilitate the operation of the unit citing environmental issues, the burden on the wider area of the airport is even more serious.
The application for compensatory benefits from the operation of the airport was first submitted a few months ago to the Municipality of Ierokipia, of which the community of Timi is now a part, by the municipal group of AKEL and was unanimously accepted by the body. Having now the official and complete data of the summer season, which show record numbers for Paphos of all the years of operation of the airport, the local bodies are updating their request these days, now having in their hands the study of the foreign house of experts.
The operation of Paphos airport offers significant economic benefits, but at the same time brings environmental, social and other impacts that affect the standard of living of the residents of the area, points out the Municipality of Ierokipia, putting on the table as compensation for these effects, the imposition of a special fee per passenger, the financing of infrastructure projects, tree planting and green zones, the improvement of the road network for better access to the airport, the financing of social and cultural actions and more.
