AVIATION: Cyprus Airways awaits make-or-break EC ruling

The European Competition Commission is expected to rule on Thursday whether some 100 mln euros provided to Cyprus Airways is deemed as state aid and needs to be paid back, effectively bankrupting the ailing national carrier.

Transport Minister Marios Demetriades said that the government is preparing for any outcome and in the case that the airline is shut down, to ensure the island’s connectivity and the workers’ rights.
“We already have a plan in place to fill the void created by the airline’s suspension,” he said, adding that the government will reimburse passengers and safeguard all redundancy-related pay to the airline’s staff.
Demetriades explained that the decision to issue local operating licenses to Greek carrier Aegean Airlines and European budget operator Ryanair was to attract other airlines as well and boost the island’s air links.
Already, the Cyprus Stock Exchange said that it would delist the shares of the 96%-state owned company from its board on January 13, having secured a relevant order from the Securities and Exchange Commission as the airline has failed to submit audited accounts since 2012 and other relevant financial reports.
Meanwhile, Aegean has already announced that it will launch its Larnaca-Tel Aviv daily schedule in March on board an Airbus A320, almost a year after it resumed flights to Israel from Athens, while it will also take advantage of the Cyprus Airways gap to start three weekly flights from Larnaca to Kiev, a route suspended due to the crisis in Ukraine.