North threatens airport operator with $1,000 per day fine

The north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli threatened on Tuesday to issue Ercan (Tymbou) airport’s operating company T&T with daily fines worth $1,000 (€914) over “deficiencies” at the new terminal.

The airport’s deficiencies, reported to number as many as 150, were recorded following inspections in June, before the new terminal officially opened its doors in July.

A six-month grace period was given for T&T to rectify the issues, with Arikli saying that “98 per cent of them have now been resolved”.

Meanwhile, a new meteorological device is set to be installed in the near future. Arikli said the device takes around a month to assemble and test, meaning that it will enter regular service at the end of January.

Once the meteorological device is installed and operational, Arikli said, an accredited inspection team will “check the airport from top to bottom in terms of security and technical aspects and issue a certificate of suitability for international flights.”

However, should the aforementioned deficiencies persist, the airport may fail to meet the requisite standards to achieve the suitability certification.

Arikli confirmed that should that happen, “a penalty of $1,000 per day will be imposed on the company, and that if the deficiencies continue, their contract may be cancelled.”

While no official record of the deficiencies has been published, the Cyprus Mail understands that issues regarding the airport pertain to matters regarding electrical supply and connections within the airport, faulty fittings to various fixtures, and a number of mice which have taken residence in the terminal.