Larnaca International Airport – Glafcos Clerides is an international airport located 4 km southwest of Larnaca, Cyprus. Larnaca International Airport is Cyprus' main international airport and the larger of the two commercial airports in the area controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, the other being Paphos International Airport on the island's southwestern coast. The airport was given its current name in July 2016, in honour of former President of Cyprus (1993 – 2003) Glafcos Clerides.

History

Larnaca Airport was hastily developed towards the end of 1974 after the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey on 20 July of the same year, which forced the closure of the Nicosia International Airport. The site on which it was built (near the Larnaca Salt Lake) had been previously used as an airfield in the 1930s and, subsequently, as a military installation by British forces. Larnaca International opened on 8 February 1975, with only limited infrastructure facilities and a prefabricated set of buildings comprising separate halls for departures and arrivals. The first airlines to use the new airport were Cyprus Airways, using Viscount 800s leased from British Midland, and Olympic Airways, using NAMC YS-11s. Initially, the runway at Larnaca International was too short for jet aircraft.

Operations

The status of Cyprus as a major tourist destination means that air traffic has steadily risen to over 5 million passengers a year. This is double the capacity the airport was first designed for. For this reason, a tender was put out in 1998 to develop the airport further and increase its capacity (see below). Already completed elements of the expansion include a new control tower, fire station, runway extension, and additional administrative offices. The surrounding road network was improved by upgrading the B4 road; a new junction has been constructed near the new terminal. The new terminal was built some 500 - 700 m west of the old terminal, adjacent to the new control tower, with new aprons and jetways. The old terminal building is slated to be partially demolished and refurbished as a cargo centre, and is currently used as a private terminal for visiting heads of state, other VIPs, and private aircraft operators. The airport's geographic location in-between Europe, Africa, Russia and the Middle East facilitates it as an airline hub for traffic and flight operations between these locations. It currently holds domestic, regional and international passenger and cargo services by over 50 airlines. Notably, Gulf Air used to provide a non-stop service to New York-JFK twice a week. Romanian low-cost carrier Blue Air announced the closure of their Larnaca base in September 2020.

Facilities

The airport has one primary state-of-the-art passenger terminal. Departures are accommodated on the upper level, while arrivals are accommodated at the ground level. The old terminal was renovated and is privately operated by Skylink Services Ltd who manage and operate a "VIP terminal", which is used for executive aircraft and for visiting heads of state, and other non commercial aircraft. The airport utilises a single large apron for all passenger aircraft. The concept architectural design of the passenger terminal was developed by French architects at Aéroports de Paris (ADP) with Sofréavia in France. A €650 million upgrade of the Larnaca and Paphos airports was completed in 2006. The international tender was won by Hermes Airports, a French-led group. The consortium is made up of Bouygues Batiment International (22%) Egis Projects (20%), the Cyprus Trading Corporation (a local retail group-10%), Iacovou Brothers (a local contractor-10%), Hellenic Mining (10%), Vancouver Airport Services (10%), Ireland's Dublin Airport Authority (Aer Rianta International) (10%), Charilaos Apostolides (a local construction company-5%) and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (3%). Hermes Airports built new passenger terminals and plans to extend the runways at both airports under a 25-year concession. A new terminal building opened on 7 November 2009. It has 16 jetways (boarding bridges), 67 check-in counters, 8 self check-in kiosks, 48 departure gates, and 2,450 parking spots. The new terminal can handle 7.5 million passengers per year. Infrastructure also features a large engineering hangar, a cargo terminal, and separate facilities for fuelling and provisioning light aircraft. There is a second, smaller apron where cargo aircraft and private aircraft are often parked. There are also spaces for smaller aircraft for flying schools and privately owned aircraft separate from the main two aprons.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Larnaca:

Cargo

Statistics

Access

The airport can be reached by car, taxi and public transport system. There is a shuttle bus system to and from Limassol, Nicosia, Protaras, Paralimni and Ayia Napa. Urban buses are available at the airport to various locations in Larnaca.

Security incidents and accidents