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Cyprus impacted by travel chaos at British airports

passengers wait at heathrow terminal 5 airport

The travel chaos inflicting British airports has impacted Cyprus as just over 1,000 flights were delayed to and from the island in May, with industry experts warning of further problems over the summer.

Paphos airport was worst affected, with 264 incoming flights delayed in May – accounting for 26 per cent of the hub’s total, while 294 outbound flights were delayed, 29 per cent of such flights.

Larnaca faced 223 delayed incoming flights (12 per cent) with a similar figure for outbound flights.

UK holidaymakers have been plagued with delays and subsequent discomfort, with many airlines’ phonelines inundated with panicked travellers seeking reassurance ahead of the busy summer period.

But there have been dozens of cancellations, too, and Hermes Airports said that Larnaca suffered 24 cancellations for inbound and outbound flights, while Paphos was hit with 20 cancelled inbound flights and 21 outbound.

EasyJet, Wizz Air, British Airways and Tui have been among the hardest hit – with the latter having been particularly lambasted in the British press and on social media following complaints of poor communication and sloppy customer support.

Senior officials at the Cyprus hotel owner’s association told the Cyprus Mail last week that they have not received reports of those in the industry being seriously impacted by the travel chaos, although they cautioned that issues may arise unless the situation is swiftly remedied.

Some aviation experts, however, are warning that the issues may not be resolved in time for the hectic summer tourist season.

An ongoing blame game between the British government and the airlines has further knocked customers’ faith, with many incredulous at what they view as being an entirely predictable situation: increased travel demand during summer.

Hermes Airports, which operates the Republic’s two airports in Paphos and Larnaca, announced that despite the difficulties about 885,000 travellers made it to the island in May.

But delays and cancellations from British flights could spell disaster for Cyprus’ tourism industry, which was hoping for a boost following the pandemic and the ban on Russian flights, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Britain has long been the strongest market and source of tourists for Cyprus, as seen in 2018 when Britons made up 30 per cent of the 3,938,625 visitors for that year.

Earlier this year, deputy tourism minister Savvas Perdios said arrivals from the UK are expected to reach one million this year.

The ministry is hoping Britons can help fill the gap of lost arrivals and revenues from Russia and Ukraine.

Noting that the gap is by no means insignificant, he said visitors from these countries were up to 800,000, which amounts to a fifth of the overall number of tourists.

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