New Paphos Airport Terminal

Dignitaries such as Cyprus president Demetrios Christofias and EU Commissioner for Transport Antonio Tajani attended the launch on Saturday, November 8, which was also blessed by Bishop Gregorios of Paphos. They were among 900 guests who turned up to see what the new Paphos International has to offer.
Paphos has grown rapidly over the years from being a small fishing village to a world class tourism destination.
Many visitors come to Paphos to enjoy its beautiful beaches which lie baking under a perpetually sunny climate, ancient historical monuments including the Tombs of the Kings and an abundance of wildlife in surrounding areas such as the Akamas Peninsula.


The Paphos International terminal will now be to take more than 2.5 million passengers per year and so is a vital platform for the tourism in Cyprus. President Christofias said it would help the island to protect itself from the worldwide economic downturn and compete with other international airports vying to receive business.
In particular, he hoped the terminal would create new tourist markets and encourage more visitors from areas in Eastern Europe like Russia and Ukraine to take their holidays in Cyprus.

That drive to improve the tourist market for Cyprus will be further helped by the building of a 7.5 million passengers terminal at Larnaca airport, which is around two hours drive north-east from Paphos.
These two main terminals will serve the entire island as the airport at Nicosia has been derelict ever since the 1974 invasion left it stranded in the demilitarised buffer zone between Northern and Southern Cyprus.
The Paphos International terminal has been built by Hermes Airports international consortium which fulfilled its 28 month target for completion in time and on budget.



The 126 million Euro project offers travellers the best in duty free shopping, with a large amount of floor space dedicated to retail, as well as restaurants and cafes. In the new terminal there is section for electronics, jewellery, watches, books and other items while a second section of around 600 square metres has tobacco, confectionary, liquor and beauty products on offer.

The Caffé Ritazza coffee shop, the Upper Crust sandwich and refreshments bar and a new beer garden are among the places where travellers can stock up on food and quench their thirst before flying.
Special design features of the new terminal are environmentally friendly lighting and air conditioning systems. Where possible local Cypriot building materials and technologies have been used.
The Cyprus Airports Food and Beverage Company, CTC-ARI Airports and Aer Rianta International-Middle East have also been involved in delivering Paphos International’s new facilities.

John Sutcliffe, Chairman of the Cyprus Food and Beverage Company and managing director of Aer Rianta International-Middle East said: “It has been a fantastic day. This is a milestone as the first major investment in airports that Aer Rianta International-Middle East has made.
“We are an 11% shareholder in Paphos and Larnaca International airports and delivering the Paphos project was a big event for us. Having his Excellency the president of Cyprus here was an even bigger event.
“The terminal is of a very high standard and is as good as, if not better than, any of the other major airports in Europe. It will set a standard for what we intend to do with Larnaca airport next year and give us much to live up to.”
In other Cyprus travel news, a hotel run by the giant Easygroup company which is responsible for aviation company Easyjet, will open in Larnaca next summer.

Low cost accommodation will be the name of the game with its 56 rooms going for as little as 15 Euros per night, though features such as internet access and extra towels have to be paid for.
The Phinikoudes beach in Larnaca, which has plenty of bars and restaurants, will be a short walk away from the hotel will hopes to attract budget conscious travellers coming from any of the nine airlines which use Larnaca airport. It will also coincide with the airport redevelopment.
There will also be new on-airport Car Hire Facilities, and Rhino Car Hire Paphos Airport will have operations from the new airport terminal.


Easyhotels have opened in major cities around the world such as London, Zurich and Budapest and use the airline’s traditional orange theme. To book a room, go to www.easyhotel.com.

Reporter: Robert Frische