At least four Cyprus Airways flights were reportedly delayed by up to 40 minutes Monday, when the new European Commission regulation limiting liquids on passengers’ hand luggage was imposed at the island’s two main airports.
A CyBC radio report claimed that the four flights were delayed because of the long queues created after passport control to ensure that the individual allowance of each passenger did not exceed 100 millilitres of liquids or gels and that any such products were placed in a transparent sealable plastic bag before boarding.
Antonis Lemessianos, Director of Civil Aviation Services, said that he believed the delay to be less, at some 15 minutes per flight.
The airports at Larnaca and Paphos are already undergoing a major face lift after the new build-operate-transfer (BOT) partner, Hermes Airports Consortium, won the contract to build two new terminals and ground facilities over the next three years and manage them for 25 years.
Bob Manning, the Australian chief executive of Hermes Airports with extensive experience in the aviation industry, said that any delays on the first day of such changes were understandable.
“I won’t be able to carry my own shaving cream in my hand luggage,” he said, as he prepared to travel on a Europe-bound flight.
Manning added that passengers were encouraged to place all their items in their main luggage cases.
The EC Regulation 1546/2006 was introduced to prevent any liquid explosives from being taken on board.
Marios Loucaides, the managing director of CTC-ARI, the airport shops that inherited the duty free business when the new consortium took over in June, said the new regulation specifies that all items must be labelled or evident and must not exceed 100 ml per container, while the sealable transparent plastic bag should not exceed a capacity of one litre.
He added medical supplies with prescription or special dietary items would be allowed, while any purchases made at the airport shops had no limitation on type or volume.
Loucaides added that the airport authorities had the right to demand proof of purchase of any items in the hand luggage.
