Larnaca Airport Mini Guide
Larnaca airport is one of Cyprus’ two main international airports, the other being at Paphos.
Currently work is being done to expand the airport as to date it only has one passenger terminal and no boarding bridges. This has meant that passengers have had to take a bus when their airplane arrives at Larnaca.
The rise in the number of tourists visiting Cyprus was the main reason for the need to make the airport larger and there are now more than five million passengers using it every year.
Larnaca airport was hastily created in 1974 because the invasion of Cyprus by the Turkish army in that year had forced the closure of Nicosia international airport.
Larnaca airport was first used by Cyprus Airways, though the land it occupies next to the Larnaca salt lake had been an airfield in the 1930’s.
The geographic position of Cyprus means that Larnaca airport is now increasingly used as a major hub for traffic going between Europe and the Middle East.
Therefore a €650m upgrade of the Larnaca airport is underway, led by Hermes Airports which is a French group. The consortium is made up of Bouygues Batiment International (22%) Egis Projects (20%), the Cyprus Trading Corporation (a local retail group-10%), Iacovou Brothers (10%), Hellenic Mining (10%), Vancouver Airport Services (10%), Ireland's Aer Rianta International (10%), Charilaos Apostolides (a local construction company-5%) and Aeroport Nice (3%).
They are extending the runways and opening a new terminal in 2009. On top of that a second phase will allow the airport to handle up to nine million passengers every year in the terminal which will be enlarged to almost 100,000 square metres. There will also be 16 boarding bridges and a bigger, 500 metre runway.
This terminal is being moved to the west of where it was originally and will have a new control tower with new aprons and jet ways. Meanwhile the old terminal building is to be demolished and replaced with a cargo centre.
All this development has meant that the nearby infrastructure of roads also underwent improvements and the surrounding road network was improved by upgrading the B4 road and completing the A3 motorway. A new junction has also been constructed near the new terminal.
Among the many airlines to use Larnaca airport are Air Berlin, Easyjet, Aeroflot, British Airways, Gulf Air, Lufthansa, Monarch and Thomson. A number of car rental companies have offices in Larnaca including Petsa and Sixt.
| Airport Name |
Larnaca International Airport |
| Airport Code |
LCA |
| Location |
5.0 KM from Larnaca |
| Address |
Larnaca International Airport
7130 Larnaca
Cyprus
|
| Telephone |
24 816 130 |