The European Commission on Thursday sent Cyprus a reasoned opinion over its “shortcomings in the implementation of airport security and surveillance”, while also raising wider concerns about the state of civil aviation on the island.

The reasoned opinion stated that Cyprus had “failed to ensure … that the airport operator of Larnaca and Paphos airports correctly complies with all applicable EU requirements in their respective airport manuals, including those relating to rescue and firefighting services”.

In addition, the commission said it “has concerns as to whether the civil aviation department in Cyprus has sufficient qualified staff in all the required technical areas to be able to effectively carry out its oversight tasks related to the airports”.

“These issues were identified during an inspection carried out by the European Union safety agency in 2020 and were highlighted by the commission in the letter of formal notice sent to Cyprus on November 16, 2023,” it said.

Given that Cyprus had not yet resolved the these issues, the commission said, it is now sending a reasoned opinion, to which Cyprus has been given two months to “respond and take the necessary measures”.

Otherwise, it said, it “may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union”.

While the commission did not publicly specify which aspects of the EU’s regulations related to airport safety Cyprus had not implemented, Thursday’s reasoned opinion is not the first time concerns have been raised regarding security at an airport on the island.

In January, airlines based in Israel temporarily suspended their operations in and out of Paphos airport, prompting deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou to insist that both the Republic of Cyprus’ airports are safe, and that the measures “concern airlines with Israeli interests”.

Israeli intelligence agency Shin Bet had at the beginning of the year, instructed flag carrier airline El Al and Arkia to not fly to Paphos “due to security reasons that cannot be made public”, while it later transpired that an Israeli boat had been stationed next to the runway at Larnaca airport.

This boat was stationed alongside a patrol car at the airport’s perimeter fence and armed men in the control tower.

The moves came after Israeli officials had visited Paphos airport to evaluate its security measures, before asking that security measures be bolstered at both the Republic’s airports.

However, a lack of Israeli personnel on the island had meant they could only increase their own presence at one of them, and they as such instructed Israeli airlines to temporarily pull out of Paphos, before resuming flights over the summer.

Israel is famed, among other things, for strict airport and airline security, with El Al well known for its extensive security measures.

El Al is the only civil airline which has its aircraft equipped with missile defence systems, while all El Al pilots are former Israeli air force pilots.