Ercan International Airport ( tr, Ercan Uluslararası Havalimanı gr, Αεροδρόμιο Τύμπου) is the primary civilian airport of the unrecognised

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

state of

Northern Cyprus Northern Cyprus ( tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs), officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC; tr, Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti, ''KKTC''), is a ''de facto'' state that comprises the northeastern portion of the Geography of Cyprus, isl ...

. It is located about east of

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

, near the village of

Tymbou Tymvou ( tr, Kırklar) is a village in the central Mesaoria plain of Cyprus. Tymvou is occupied by the Turkish Armed Forces and is under the de facto control of Northern Cyprus. After 1960, the village was inhabited exclusively by Greek Cypriots; ...

History

The precursor of Ercan Airport, Tymvou Airport, was constructed by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a military airport, during their colonial rule of the island. Following the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...

and the partition of the island it was occupied by the Turkish army, and today it is used as the main civilian airport of Northern Cyprus. Since 2006, the rule which stipulates that flights are required to touch down at a Turkish airport before continuing to and from Ercan has been under discussion. In 2006, the

Turkish government The Government of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükûmeti) is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party ...

began discussions for Northern Cyprus's main port

Famagusta Famagusta ( , ; el, Αμμόχωστος, Ammóchostos, ; tr, Gazimağusa or ) is a city on the east coast of Geography of Cyprus, Cyprus. It is located east of Nicosia District, Nicosia and possesses the deepest harbour of the island. Duri ...

, and main civilian airport Ercan, to be able to operate direct connections, with the

UK government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

describing it as a "significant and creative offer". However, as of 2017, the rule still applies, and Ercan airport has seen a decrease in customers, as a result of new tight security measures imposed by the UK

Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...

questioning the status of the airport and forcing passengers travelling between Britain and Northern Cyprus to disembark with their luggage and go through a fresh security check in Turkey in order to board a new aircraft for their final destination. Recent plans have arisen to privatise Ercan Airport, as well as plans to enlarge the airport in order to increase capacity. Ercan Airport currently has a 2.75 kilometre-long runway and an apron with a capacity of seven aircraft. Although the runway is long enough for large planes to land, it is not long enough for take-offs. The plan has been for the construction of a new runway of 3200m and extension of the existing runway to 3200m, apron and terminal building and with the planned new apron more than doubling the current plane capacity. As of 2021, the new terminal is currently under construction. It will be much larger than the existing and have 9 airbridges. The new terminal was due to open on 15 November 2022 but the opening has been delayed. It will be fully compliant with international standards and will be able to handle direct flights in the future.

Airlines and destinations

Flights to the airport are banned internationally due to the ongoing

Cyprus dispute The Cyprus problem, also known as the Cyprus dispute, Cyprus issue, Cyprus question or Cyprus conflict, is an ongoing dispute between Greek Cypriots in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north. Initially, with the Modern history of Cyprus#In ...

. Non-stop flights only take place from Turkey, and all planes that fly to Northern Cyprus from other countries have to stop over in Turkey. Because of these difficulties and inconveniences, the majority of Turkish Cypriots with Republic of Cyprus

passports A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...

prefer to use

Larnaca International Airport Larnaca International Airport – Glafcos Clerides (''Diethnís Aeroliménas Lárnakas''). tr, Larnaka Uluslararası Havaalanı). is an international airport located southwest of Larnaca, Cyprus. Larnaca International Airport is Cyprus' main ...

, which is located in the territory under the control of the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus; this option is not available, however, to the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

citizens. However, several Turkish airlines operate direct flights from Ercan to Europe with intermediate stops in Turkey via some of the destinations listed below. The Government of the Republic of Cyprus considers the use of Ercan Airport to exit or enter the island illegal.

Statistics

References

External links

* * * {{authority control Airports in Northern Cyprus Airports in Cyprus World War II airfields in Cyprus Nicosia