Airport on the island of Cyprus
Ercan International Airport
(
Turkish
:
Ercan Uluslararası Havalimanı
pronounced
[æ??d?an
u?us?a?a?a?s?
havalima?n?]
Greek
:
Αεροδρ?μιο Τ?μπου
) (
IATA
:
ECN
,
ICAO
:
LCEN
)
[1]
is the primary civilian airport of the
de facto
state of
Northern Cyprus
. It is located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east of
Nicosia
, near the village of
Tymbou
, and named for
Fehmi Ercan
[
tr
]
[4]
. A new terminal and an extended runway to 3200 meters opened on 20 July 2023.
[5]
The airport currently only serves flights from and to Turkiye, but it is fully compliant with international standards and able to handle direct flights from other destinations in the future.
History
[
edit
]
The precursor of Ercan Airport, Tymvou Airport, was constructed by the
British
in
World War II
as a military airport, during
their colonial rule
of the island. Following the
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
and the partition of the island, it was occupied by the Turkish army, and today it is used as the main civilian airport of Northern Cyprus.
Since 2006, the rule which stipulates that flights are required to touch down at a Turkish airport before continuing to and from Ercan has been under discussion. In 2006, the
Turkish government
began discussions for Northern Cyprus's main port
Famagusta
, and main civilian airport Ercan, to be able to operate direct connections, with the
UK government
describing it as a "significant and creative offer".
[6]
However, as of 2017, the rule still applies, and Ercan airport has seen a decrease in customers,
[7]
as a result of new tight security measures imposed by the UK
Department for Transport
questioning the status of the airport and forcing passengers travelling between Britain and Northern Cyprus to disembark with their luggage and go through a fresh security check in Turkey in order to board a new aircraft for their final destination.
[7]
Recent plans have arisen to privatise Ercan Airport, as well as plans to enlarge the airport in order to increase capacity. Ercan Airport currently has a 2,755 metres (9,039 ft) long runway and an apron with a capacity of seven aircraft. Although the runway is long enough for large planes to land, it is not long enough for take-offs. The plan has been for the construction of a new runway of 3,200 metres (10,500 ft) and extension of the existing runway to 3200m, apron and terminal building and with the planned new apron more than doubling the current plane capacity.
[8]
As of 2021, the new terminal is currently under construction. It will be much larger than the existing airport and will have 9 airbridges.
[9]
The new terminal was due to open in the spring of 2023 but the opening was delayed.
[10]
It will be fully compliant with international standards and will be able to handle direct flights in the future.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Airlines and destinations
[
edit
]
International status
[
edit
]
Flights to the airport are banned internationally due to the ongoing
Cyprus dispute
.
[14]
Non-stop flights only take place from Turkey, and all planes that fly to Northern Cyprus from other countries have to stop over in Turkey.
[15]
Because of these difficulties and inconveniences, the majority of Turkish Cypriots with Republic of Cyprus
passports
prefer to use
Larnaca International Airport
, which is located in the territory under the control of the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus; this option is not available, however, to
Turkish
citizens.
[7]
[16]
However, several Turkish airlines operate direct flights from Ercan to Europe with intermediate stops in Turkey via some of the destinations listed below.
[14]
[15]
The Government of the Republic of Cyprus considers the use of Ercan Airport to exit or enter the island illegal.
Overview
[
edit
]
Airlines
| Destinations
|
---|
AJet
[17]
| Adana
,
Ankara
,
Antalya
,
Gaziantep
,
Istanbul?Sabiha Gokcen
,
Izmir
,
Trabzon
[18]
|
Fly Kıbrıs Airlines
| Adana
,
Ankara
,
Antalya
,
Istanbul
,
Izmir
Seasonal:
Bodrum
|
Pegasus Airlines
| Adana
,
Ankara
,
Antalya
,
Gaziantep
,
Istanbul?Sabiha Gokcen
,
Izmir
,
Kayseri
[19]
|
SunExpress
[20]
| Izmir
|
Turkish Airlines
| Antalya
,
Istanbul
|
Statistics
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
Media related to
Ercan International Airport
at Wikimedia Commons
|
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Civilian
| |
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Military
| |
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Defunct
| |
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|
|
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Sovereign states
| |
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States with limited
recognition
| |
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Dependencies and
other entities
| |
---|