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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Paphos International Airport

Paphos International Airport (Greek: Διεθνής Αερολιμένας Πάφου; Turkish: Baf Uluslararası Havalimanı) (IATA: PFO, ICAO: LCPH) is a joint civil-military public airport located 6.5 kilometres (4.0 miles) south-east of the city of Paphos on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. It is the country's second largest airport, after Larnaca International Airport. Paphos Airport is commonly used by tourists on vacation in western Cyprus, providing access to popular resorts such as Coral Bay, Limassol (about 50 kilometres (31 miles) south-east), and Paphos itself.

History

The airport first opened in 1982; 42 years ago (1982). In May 2006, Hermes Airports Limited took over the construction, development, and operation of both Larnaca and Paphos airports for a period of 25 years. According to the airport operator, Paphos Airport served 1,744,011 passengers in 2007. A new passenger terminal opened at Paphos in November 2008.

On 10 January 2012, Ryanair announced they were to open their 50th base in Paphos. In April 2012, they allocated two aircraft in Paphos with 15 new routes, offering over 80 flights a week. Ryanair claim the reason they opened the base in Paphos was due to reduced landing charges offered by Hermes' incentive scheme, as well as the fact that they can easily operate within their standards (e.g., their typical 25 minutes turnaround time).

A new four-lane road is being planned to link the airport and Paphos, so passengers and staff can avoid using the B6 main road and the E603 secondary road which are often heavily congested.

Facilities

Paphos International Airport check-in hall

Passenger facilities include 28 check-in desks, one special baggage check-in, seven gates, 22 aircraft stands, a bank, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, a duty-free shop, and a gift shop. Other facilities include a tourist help desk, car rental, first aid, a baby/parent room, and disabled access facilities. Refrigerated storage, health officials, and X-ray equipment are among some of the facilities provided for cargo. Furthermore, loading platforms and forklifts are also available.

Andreas Papandreou airbase

The airport is also an asset of the Cyprus National Guard, serving as a military air force base under the call sign 'Andreas Papandreou'. Located on the north-eastern part of the airport, it is considered the most south-eastern European air force base component of various EU air forces, as well as a safe base for humanitarian and emergency purposes for other countries.

Airlines and destinations

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

AirlinesDestinations
AirSevenSeasonal charter: Aarhus
Bluebird Airways Seasonal: Tel Aviv
British Airways London–Gatwick
Seasonal: London–Heathrow
BuzzSeasonal charter: Katowice, Poznań
easyJetBristol, Edinburgh, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, Manchester
El AlSeasonal: Tel Aviv
Israir Airlines Seasonal: Haifa, Tel Aviv
Jet2.comBirmingham, East Midlands, Leeds/Bradford, London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne
Seasonal: Belfast–International, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool
LOT Polish AirlinesSeasonal charter: Katowice, Warsaw–Chopin
LufthansaSeasonal: Munich
Petroleum Air ServicesSeasonal charter: Cairo
Royal Jordanian Seasonal: Amman–Queen Alia (resumes 13 June 2024)
RyanairAmman–Queen Alia, Athens, Beauvais, Bergamo, Berlin, Birmingham, Bordeaux (ends 26 October 2024), Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Chania, Cologne/Bonn, Dublin, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kaunas, Kraków, Liverpool, London–Stansted, Manchester, Memmingen, Naples, Newcastle upon Tyne, Poznań, Riga, Rome–Ciampino, Sofia, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki, Toulouse, Vienna, Warsaw–Chopin, Warsaw–Modlin, Wrocław, Zagreb
Seasonal: Bratislava, Charleroi, Eindhoven, Malta, Marseille, Mykonos, Rhodes, Tallinn, Treviso
Sun d'Or Seasonal: Tel Aviv
TransaviaSeasonal: Amsterdam, Paris–Orly
TUI AirwaysSeasonal: Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bristol, Cardiff, East Midlands, Exeter, Glasgow, London–Gatwick, London–Luton (begins 7 May 2025), London–Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich
TUI fly BelgiumSeasonal: Brussels
TUI fly NetherlandsSeasonal: Amsterdam
Tus AirwaysSeasonal: Tel Aviv

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at PFO airport. See Wikidata query.
number of
passengers
percentage
change
2006 1,832,655
2007 1,744,800 Decrease004.7%
2008 1,765,431 Increase001.1%
2009 1,590,905 Decrease009.8%
2010 1,613,546 Increase001.4%
2011 1,778,898 Increase010.2%
2012 2,242,797 Increase026.0%
2013 2,175,114 Decrease003.0%
2014 2,097,923 Decrease003.5%
2015 2,277,741 Increase008.5%
2016 2,336,471 Increase002.5%
2017 2,518,169 Increase007.7%
2018 2,872,391 Increase014.0%
2019 3,044,402 Increase005.9%
2020 632,990 Decrease079.2%
2021 1,517,465 Increase139.7%
2022 3,179,776 Increase109.5%
2023 3,565,512 Increase12.13%

Access

Bus

There is a regular bus service from Paphos Harbour station to the airport, limited services also run to / from Paphos Town (Karavella) and Polis. Direct buses to/from Limassol, Nicosia and Larnaca are also available.

Car

The airport is located 20.8 kilometres (12.9 miles) south-east of Paphos and 61.2 kilometres (38.0 miles) west of Limassol.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 21 September 2011, a Thomson Airways Boeing 737-800 inadvertently landed on the taxiway parallel to the runway (Taxiway Bravo, formerly Runway 11L/29R). No other aircraft was on the taxiway at the time, and the Thomson taxied safely to the apron. A NOTAM was published on 20 December 2011, warning pilots of the possibility of mistaking the runway with the parallel taxiway. An additional NOTAM was published on 14 August 2012, recommending pilots to confirm their alignment with the runway by using the ILS localiser when performing a visual approach to runway 29. By 2014, yellow 'TAXI' markings were painted across the width of the parallel taxiway near either longitudinal end, facing approaching aircraft; and a 'TAXIWAY' marking was painted at its junction with Taxiway Charlie (about midway), facing the latter.