Nicosia International Airport

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The Nicosia ( Lefkosia or ) international airport was the only public airport in Cyprus. After his territory to the UN protection zone has been declared, the airport had to close.

History

The airfield Lefkosia was used by the Royal Air Force since the 1930s, during the Second World War, the runway of the company J & P has been expanded. On September 24, 1947 Cyprus Airways took from this regular services in.

In 1966 the construction of the new terminal began, involved in planning was the Wiesbaden engineering office cod and Gehrmann, which had specialized in the insulation against aircraft noise. In 1968 the terminal was opened. However, in the early 1970s came the airport to its capacity limits, so that 1974 expansion plans were unveiled in June.

During the Cyprus conflict, the Turkish air forces destroyed two of the three- Trident - Jets fleet of Cyprus Airways ( The remains of the aircraft are still visible). A short time later, the airport was between the fronts in the Cyprus conflict and the UN declared that the UN safe area. In the middle of the tourist season lost both Cyprus Airways aircraft as well as its base. Provisionally had in Larnaca on a former military airfield an airfield to be prepared, which opened in February 1975, was extended to the airport later.

Several calls for civil air traffic to open the airport again, have failed so far. His role as the island 's international airport took over the airport of Larnaca flights over Turkey are offered by Ercan airport.

On February 11, 2014, the leaders of the two Cypriot constituent states discussed ( Nikos Anastasiades and Derviş Eroğlu ) on the site of the old airport of Nicosia on the reunification of Cyprus. The discussions in this symbolic site took place under the auspices of the United Nations and were the first in over two years.