Airport operator nabs Cyprus Airways Airbus over €4 mln debt

Airports operator Hermes impounded a Cyprus Airways Airbus at Larnaca on Wednesday morning due to a 4 mln euro debt that the troubled state-controlled carrier has amassed with the company.
But Cyprus Airways was quick to respond with its chairman saying that despite the action, the airline’s flight operations continue smoothly and without any problems.
Tony Antoniou, tasked with restructuring the airline that is dogged with high labour costs, said that the airport’s action was “a provocation and dangerous,” adding that the airline paid 567,000 euros on Tuesday and a further payment of 425,000 euros on Wednesday.
Antoniou added that the aircraft is leased and Cyprus Airways was scheduled to return it to the owners.
The Hermes Airports board decided on Tuesday to impound the aircraft, one of nine A320s and A319s in the airline’s fleet, prompting President Nicos Anastasiades to intervene and try to diffuse the situation.