Ercan Airport is the international airport of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, located northeast of the capital Nicosia. It was built by Great Britain during World War II, was used as a military base, and was later abandoned. However, after the recognition of Turkish authority over this part of the island, the airport began to expand and rebuild, and today it is one of the largest civil airports in Cyprus: the new terminal of Ercan airport was opened in May 2004.
There is one important feature of the airport: all aircraft making international flights to and from Ercan airport must make a stopover at one of the Turkish airports. This is due to the fact that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has not yet been recognized as independent.
The airport is easily accessible by bus (Airport-Nicosia) or taxi from anywhere in Northern Cyprus. The check-in desk and passport control are located close to each other, in the airport there are currency exchange offices, luggage storage, mother and child room, several cafes and “Duty Free” shops. Prices are usually quoted in euros, but you can pay with Turkish lira, US dollars or British pounds.
Cyprus is one of the most popular Mediterranean islands. Numerous tourists from different parts of our planet come to the sunny coast of the island. And, of course, many of our compatriots choose Cyprus for relaxation, entertainment and enjoyment of its natural beauty. Cyprus airports on the map are numerous, so it is worth knowing how they are located, exploring the most convenient options for yourself. The fact is that tourists can get to the southern and northern parts of the island by different routes, so you need to have additional information about the international Cypriot harbors in order to know exactly the name of the airport in Cyprus, where they fly from Moscow or other large Russian cities.
Considering the list of airports in Cyprus, seven main ones should be highlighted, which are located in the following cities:
- Larnaca;
- Paphos;
- Limassol;
- Nicosia;
- Gechitkale;
- Episcopies;
- Ercan.
It is worth noting that the Nicosia air harbor has been considered abandoned for a long time. Therefore, tourists should not count on the operation of this air harbor. Two more air harbors of Cyprus - Erzhdan and Gechitkale, fly over the northern part of the island, while only the first accepts tourists from international flights. Summing up, we can say that there are only three international air berths of the island:
- Larnaca;
- Pathos;
- Ercan.
Larnaca airport on the map
Larnaca island air harbor
The main and youngest air harbor in Cyprus is Larnaca (IATA code - LCA, ICAO code - LCLK). Every day, the airport receives numerous tourists from different countries of the world. Our compatriots can land at the airport either by direct or by charter flight, taking off from the capital of Russia or from St. Petersburg.
In what city is the airport in Cyprus, many tourists who first decided to visit the island may ask. It is not so easy to answer this question, it is easier to list the resort towns located next to the airport:
- Limassol and Protaras;
- Nicosia;
- Ayia Napa.
To get tourists to the above cities from the main airport, you need to drive about 50-60 km.
What kind of transport can you use to get to the resort town?
Having landed at the Cyprus airfield, tourists should understand that they will need to use a different type of vehicle to get to the resort town. It should be noted right away that there is no railway line on the island, so you need to choose a different type of transport:
- buses following the desired direction;
- a car rented on vacation;
- you can use a taxi. To get to the nearest resort towns from Larnaca by taxi, tourists need to pay 50-55 euros.
A bus ticket to Limassol will cost 9-10 euros... However, one should not forget that it is necessary to cover a considerable distance to the resort area from the city center, so you will have to order a taxi, and the payment will be 15-20 euros... You can rent a car, you will have to pay for the rental from 45 to 55 euros in one day, but everyone can get to the end point comfortably and conveniently.
Paphos airport on the map
Cyprus Air Harbor - Paphos
Paphos (IATA code - PFO, ICAO code - LCPH) is the second largest air terminal in Cyprus. Of course, this airport does not receive as many tourists as Larnaca, but it serves passengers at the highest level. On the territory of the air harbor there are:
- numerous shops;
- restaurants and cafes;
- places for rest;
- ATMs and terminals.
The only problem that tourists will need to solve is to choose the appropriate mode of transport to get to the resort town from the airport. The fact is that Paphos does not have direct scheduled routes that would take tourists to the nearest resort towns, among which the following should be highlighted:
- Police - 50-55 km;
- Limassol - 65 km;
- Larnaca - 130 km;
- Nicosia - 145 km.
To get to the resort town, tourists need to rent a car or take a taxi. For a taxi service you will have to pay from 25 to 75 euros, the cost depends on the length of the journey.
Ercan airport on the map
Cyprus Air Terminal Ercan
The northern part of Cyprus is not recognized as a separate state, so our tourists will need to make a transfer if they need to fly to this part of the island. The main air harbor in the northern part of the island is called Ercan (IATA code - ECN, ICAO code - LCEN). The international air port of the northern part of the island is located in close proximity to the city of Nicosia. This air hub is not large, so tourists who arrive must cover the distance from the plane to the terminal on foot.
If the rest is planned by our compatriots in the northern part of the island, then it should be taken into account that the flight is carried out through the territory of Turkey, and the transfer is made in Istanbul or Antalya. It should be added that all vacationers arriving at the Erdan airport will not be able to get to the south of the island, since, according to the law, this will be considered a legal violation. This problem can be solved by putting a stamp on a special form at the entrance, and not in the passport. Tourists should be asked to issue such a document at the airport after the air transport has landed.
The following resort towns are located near the northern air hub:
- Nicosia - 13-15 km;
- Famagusta - 40-43 km;
- Kyrenia - 60-63 km.
From the airport you can get to any resort town by bus or taxi. The cost of a taxi depends on the distance of the resort town.
The best routes for our compatriots
Our compatriots most often choose charter flights to fly to Cyprus, the popularity of which increases with the onset of the most favorable holiday season.
The name of the airport in Cyprus, where people fly from Moscow most often, is Paphos, sometimes Russian tourists land in the air Cypriot harbor - Larnaca, less often in Ercan.
For the flight, tourists are offered flights operated by Cypriot companies and ours, domestic. It should be noted that almost all carriers in Cyprus prefer not to fly over Turkish territory, which increases the flight time. On average, such a flight lasts 4.5 to 5 hours... By choosing domestic aircraft, you can find yourself in Cyprus after 3 - 3.5 hours... The cost of a round-trip flight from the Russian capital, varies from 13 to 19 thousand rubles.
In contact with
: LCNC
military (formerly civilian)
Coordinates: 35 ° 09'00 ″ s. NS. 033 ° 16'38 ″ in. etc. / 35.15000 ° N NS. 33.27722 ° E etc./ 35.15000; 33.27722(G) (I)
Nicosia International Airport(Greek. Διεθνές Αεροδρόμιο Λευκωσίας , tour. Lefkoşa Uluslararası Havaalanı; IATA: NIC, ICAO: LCNC) is the international airport of the Republic of Cyprus, located west of Nicosia in the suburb of Lakatamia. In the past, it was the main airport of the island of Cyprus until the Turkish invasion in 1974, after which it was closed to receive civil aviation. At the present time, the contingent of the UN Armed Forces for maintaining peace in Cyprus is based there.
History
The Nicosia airfield was opened in the 1930s and was initially used as an air base for the Royal Air Force, and it still formally belongs to the British Ministry of Defense to this day. But in 1939, the Shell Company built an airstrip, which it began to use to land its aircraft. In the same year, the Arab airline Misrair began flights to Cyprus. During World War II, American bombers were based here, which carried out the bombing of Romania.
Since 1948, civilian flights to Nikossi Airport have been resumed, including being used by Misrair, BOAC, Cyprus Airways and Middle East Airlines. In 1949, the first terminal building was built, as the Nissen huts were used before. In 1959, the building was extended, but in 1968 a new building was built, and the old one was given to the local flying club. Expansion of the airport was planned for 1974, but the events that occurred in July, culminating in the Turkish invasion, canceled this plan. After that, flights to Nicosia airport were discontinued. The last passenger aircraft left the airport in 1977 with UN clearance, when British Airways took over the remaining three Cyprus Airways aircraft at the airport.
Write a review on "Nicosia (airport)"
Links
- from the Great Circle Mapper website. Source: DAFIF (valid October 2006).
- at NOAA / NWS
- on Aviation Safety Network
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Excerpt from Nicosia (airport)
Ilya Andreevich swallowed his drool with pleasure and pushed Pierre, but Pierre also wanted to talk. He moved forward, feeling animated, not knowing what yet and not knowing what he was going to say. He had just opened his mouth to speak, as one senator, completely without teeth, with an intelligent and angry face, who was standing close to the speaker, interrupted Pierre. With an apparent habit of debating and holding questions, he spoke quietly, but audibly:“I suppose, sir,” the senator said, mumbling with a toothless mouth, “that we are not called here to discuss what is more convenient for the state at the present moment - a recruitment or a militia. We are called to respond to the appeal that the Emperor has honored us with. And to judge what is more convenient - recruitment or the militia, we will leave it to the higher authorities to judge ...
Pierre suddenly found an outlet for his animation. He became bitter against the senator, who was introducing this correctness and narrowness of views into the upcoming occupations of the nobility. Pierre stepped forward and stopped him. He himself did not know what he would say, but began briskly, occasionally breaking through in French words and literally speaking in Russian.
“Excuse me, Your Excellency,” he began (Pierre was well acquainted with this senator, but considered it necessary to address him officially here), “although I disagree with Mr. ... (Pierre hesitated. He wanted to say mon tres honorable preopinant), [my esteemed opponent,] - with the lord ... que je n "ai pas L" honneur de connaitre; [which I have no honor to know] but I believe that the estate of the nobility, in addition to expressing their sympathy and enthusiasm, is also called upon to discuss the measures by which we can help the fatherland. I suppose, ”he said, enthusiastic,“ that the sovereign himself would be displeased if he found in us only the owners of the peasants whom we give him, and ... chair a canon [meat for cannons], which we make of ourselves, but would not find in us with ... with ... advice.
Many moved away from the circle, noticing the senator's contemptuous smile and the fact that Pierre was speaking freely; only Ilya Andreevich was pleased with Pierre's speech, as he was pleased with the speech of the sailor, the senator, and in general always with the speech that he was the last to hear.
“I believe that before discussing these issues,” Pierre continued, “we must ask the Emperor, most respectfully ask his Majesty to communicate to us how many troops we have, in what position our troops and armies are, and then ...
But Pierre did not have time to finish these words when they suddenly attacked him from three sides. The strongest attacked on him was the long-familiar to him, always well-disposed to him, the player in Boston, Stepan Stepanovich Apraksin. Stepan Stepanovich was in uniform, and, whether from the uniform or from other reasons, Pierre saw before him a completely different person. Stepan Stepanovich, with a sudden senile malice on his face, shouted at Pierre:
- Firstly, I will report to you that we have no right to ask the sovereign about this, and secondly, if the Russian nobility had such a right, the sovereign cannot answer us. Troops are moving in accordance with the movements of the enemy - the troops are decreasing and arriving ...
Another voice of a man of average height, about forty years old, whom Pierre had seen among the gypsies in former times and knew for a bad card player and who, also changed in uniform, moved closer to Pierre, interrupted Apraksin.
Nicosia is one of the few world capitals without its own airport. Rather, there is an airport, but it has been closed since July 20, 1974, when Turkish troops landed on the territory of Cyprus. The UN peacekeepers decided that neither side should get the airport. As a result, time stopped here.
Nicosia Airport has been the main airport in Cyprus since the early thirties. On March 27, 1968, 6 years before the war in Cyprus, the most modern terminal for that time was built. More than a million pounds sterling was spent on construction. The new terminal could simultaneously serve 11 aircraft and up to 800 passengers.
Aeroflot planes even flew here.
Acquaintance with the airport for me began from the control tower.
This is what she looked like forty years ago.
And this is how it looks now. Time is merciless.
Despite the devastation, it seems that people left here quite recently. The iron boxes with maps, corroded for forty years, were obviously opened in a hurry.
The best view of the surroundings is from the roof of the control tower, where the radio operator's room was located.
From here I was able to film UN helicopters performing training flights over the airport.
The building of the new airport terminal is also visible from there. This is how it looked in the early seventies.
And so today. The windows are broken, the letters crumbled, there are traces of shots.
On the sign in the middle of the hall is the inscription Tipping porters not allowed. The last porter left here forty years ago.
For forty years only airplanes painted on the walls have been flying here.
The kitchen of the buffet has had no smell of fresh food for forty years.
The main attraction of the airport is one of two planes destroyed by Turkish troops - Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident in the livery of Cyprus Airways.
Here he is against the background of the terminal in the early seventies.
And this is how he looked the day after the bombing. Damaged, but not yet plundered.
His colleague was far less fortunate. War is war.
As a result of the bombing, the entire fleet of Cyprus Airways, which at that time consisted of five aircraft, "landed". The other two Tridents and BAC1-11 suffered less damage.
Three years after the war, British specialists repaired them (using, among other things, spare parts from destroyed aircraft) and they left the Nicosia airport on their own. By the way, this was the last flight from the airport. Today, one of the Tridents (painted by British European Airways) is housed in the Imperial War Museum in Duxford. BAC1-11 flew the Cyprus Airways flag until 1995.
The state of Trident at the Nicosia airport is clearly not a museum - the interior is completely looted, the windows are broken, and there are traces of bullets on the fuselage.
Another aircraft on the territory of Nicosia airport is the military Avro Shackleton MR.3 XF700. In 1962, he made an emergency landing, the repair was recognized as unprofitable - the plane was used as a simulator.
As you can see, the war did not spare him either.
On August 29, 1973, a year before the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, a Czechoslovak Tu-104, which had flown in from Damascus, rolled out of the Nicosia airport strip. No one was killed, but the plane could not be restored. This is how the plane looked the day after the accident.
The plane was bought by an enterprising Cypriot - they say that almost everything was ready in order to turn it into a restaurant, but the plans were thwarted by the war. Today the tail of Tushka, on which the Czechoslovak flag is visible, is in the zone controlled by Turkish troops.
As a result of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974, the island was divided in two. Many important buildings, cities and regions have since been abandoned and are slowly being destroyed. One of the most abandoned places on the island of Cyprus and the airport in Nicosia.
The airport in Nicosia was once the main island airport. Located in the very center of the island, not far from the capital, it could receive all planes arriving on the island. Its construction began in the 30s of the last century. The first main runway was built in 1939. The airport was owned by the British army. 
Initially, the airport was primarily used by the RAF, but regular civil flights began soon after the concrete lane was built. After the outbreak of the war, it was suspended. During the Second World War, the airport infrastructure was expanded and the length of the runways and taxiways was extended. In 1943-1944 the airport was used as a base for bombers attacking the Romanian refineries in Ploiesti. 
After the war, civil air service to Nicosia was restored, but the airport itself was not well suited to handle civil traffic due to the lack of a terminal. Its construction began only at the beginning of 1949. The work cost about £ 50,000 and ended in May of that year. Over time, in order to cope with the growing passenger traffic, in 1959 it was decided to enlarge the terminal. Then the airport in Nicosia received the official status of an international airport. 
In the 60s, the flow of passengers associated with the development of resorts on the island increased more and more, and the airport in Nicosia was not able to service such a flow of civil and military vehicles. Therefore, in 1966, the Royal Air Force officially redeployed its units to other airports on the island. This made it possible to start the reconstruction of the airport and build a new, much larger terminal.
On March 27, 1968, a new, modern terminal was opened, developed by the German company Dorsch und Gehrmann. Its construction cost was 1.1 million pounds. The building could accommodate 800 passengers and accommodate 11 aircraft. Expansion was planned in 1974, but in July all plans collapsed due to a coup on the island. 
The airport was closed to civilian traffic, and was used to host Greek military aircraft, which provided support for the Greek revolutionaries. On July 18, a chaotic evacuation of tourists and foreign citizens from Cyprus was organized at the airport. As a result of the Turkish invasion, the airport in Nicosia became one of the main targets of the airborne troops. Already on July 20, they bombed and significantly damaged some of its buildings and infrastructure. After the fighting, the airport was assigned to the demilitarized zone controlled by the United Nations. 
The airport was soon reopened in 1977 to evacuate three aircraft belonging to Cypriot Airlines. One Hawker Siddeley Trident remained at the airport, unfit for flight and the wreckage of the previously destroyed Avro Shackleton.
Some of the buildings on the outskirts of the airport were taken over by UN forces, who used them for their own needs, but the terminal and most of the hangars and workshops were left to their fate. The crumbling buildings quickly became attractive to adventurers who managed to make their way to the remains of the old airport. 
The loss of a major airport had a significant impact on its island economy. Therefore, already in 1975, one of the British military airfields in the south of the island was transformed into a civil airport - Larnaca International Airport. In 1983, another airport was launched - Paphos International Airport. 
The question of the airport in Nicosia has been raised several times, but despite discussions on this issue, no action has been taken. The main reason is the absence of the need to restore the destroyed airport, while there are already 3 new ones on the island.
