Deputy Minister of Tourism Kostas Koumis this week confirmed that there have been no flight cancellations to Cyprus due to the recent fires that ravaged parts of the island, which coincided with a searing heatwave.

Specifically, three villages in the Paphos district—Psathi, Choulou, and Lemona—were evacuated as wildfires raged on Tuesday, damaging homes and affecting animals.

In response, President Nikos Christodoulides returned from Jordan to oversee efforts to put the fires out, praising the “superhuman efforts” to control the blaze, which likely started in an illegal rubbish dump.

Crucially, despite significant damage, no casualties were reported.

In a statement to the Cyprus News Agency (CNA), Koumis emphasised that “the fires have been extinguished and our country was, is, and remains a safe destination”.

Following a report in the British press questioning whether flights to Cyprus had been cancelled due to the fires that broke out this week, the Deputy Minister reassured, “I would like to confirm that we had no flight cancellations”.

He noted that “all scheduled flights are operating normally, the fires have been extinguished, and our country was, is, and remains a safe destination”.

On the contrary, he stressed that “today, we had the inaugural flight of Royal Jordanian from Amman, Jordan to Paphos Airport”.

He added that “Jazeera Airways flights from Kuwait to Larnaca Airport have resumed, and generally, flight schedules to our country continue to be strengthened on a weekly basis”.

He also noted that Wizz Air this week announced an increase in the number of its flights from a total of 11 European airports.

Specifically, the European low-cost airline on Thursday announced an expanded flight schedule from its bases in Larnaca, Cluj, and Varna, adding 177,000 seats, including 93,000 from Cyprus.

Key route increases include Belgrade to Larnaca (3 to 4 weekly flights), Larnaca to Yerevan (10 to 14), Thessaloniki (3 to 7), and Tel Aviv (7 to 12).

Additional increases cover routes to Athens, Gdansk, Prague, Wroclaw, Bucharest, Vienna, and Vilnius.

“Wizz Air continues to strengthen its position as the leading low-cost airline in Cyprus, ensuring that passengers can enjoy high-quality service and convenience without breaking the bank,” the company said.

Regarding Jordan, Koumis on Thursday stated that stronger diplomatic ties between Cyprus and the Middle Eastern country are boosting Cyprus’ tourism sector.

Moreover, Koumis highlighted the potential for enhanced collaboration between tourism partners of both countries.

During his visit to Amman, Koumis promoted Cyprus as a destination and discussed new flight routes with Jordanian officials.

Royal Jordanian Airlines now operates twice-weekly flights from Amman to Paphos, in addition to its Larnaca schedule.

The minister also met with Jordanian tourism leaders to explore further cooperation, including religious tourism.

Furthermore, Koumis said that a new cooperation plan will soon be proposed to Jordan, following consultations with Cypriot tourism stakeholders.

Finally, it’s important to also note that aircraft occupancy arriving in Cyprus last month reached 85 per cent and is increasing as peak season nears, according to a report released on Friday by Hermes Airports.

According to the report, around 41,000 passengers arrive or depart daily from Larnaca and Paphos airports.