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Cyprus expects more flights in 2022

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Cyprus Transport Minister Yiannis Karousos is optimistic ahead of the tourist season, as early indications from airlines suggest an increased flow of visitors.

Karousos said that air connectivity “is reaching levels last observed in 2019” while noting that indications are that some airlines are considering boosting their flight schedule to the island.

“The number of destinations reachable from Cyprus has steadily increased over the past three years, and 2022 will be no different.

“There will be more destinations available from Cyprus and an increased number of airlines serving the country,” said the minister.

Karousos compared expected connectivity in 2022 with the pre-coronavirus record tourist year of 2019.

He said in 2019, Cyprus offered flights to 150 destinations, which rose to 158 last year and “we expect 2022 to be even better”.

The minister said 2022 would see stakeholders doing their best to boost arrivals close to 2019 levels when the island saw a record of 3.96 million arrivals.

The Transport Ministry is already in talks with several airlines to convince them to expand their flight schedule.

According to data released by the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation: “Cyprus had one of the smallest decreases in direct air connectivity compared to other countries during the pandemic”.

“We are optimistic that 2022 will be a good year.

“Of course, this will depend on several factors related to the pandemic, but we are working with tour operators towards bringing back tourists this summer,” said the minister.

Tourism arrivals in 2021 hovered just below the 2 million mark when Cyprus welcomed a total of 1,936,931, 51.3% less than 2019.