EU air traffic controllers urge Cyprus, Turkey and the European Commission to address flight safety issues over the island

The European Coordination of Air Traffic Controllers’ Unions (ATCEUC) has called on the authorities of Cyprus and Turkey, the European Union and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to begin high-level negotiations over the lack of coordination between Cyprus’s civil aviation authorities and Turkish and Turkish Cypriot air traffic control services.

The call followed a dangerous close encounter between aircraft in the Nicosia flight information region. A Boeing 737 passenger aircraft operated by Britain’s Tui Airways was descending to flight level 35,000 feet, while a Turkish Air Force Airbus A400M military transport aircraft was climbing to 36,000 feet on a reciprocal course. The military aircraft entered the area without establishing radio contact and deviated from its filed flight plan. Air traffic controllers at the Nicosia Area Control Centre prevented a collision: they detected the conflicting courses in time and instructed the Boeing to stop its descent.

The organisation recalled that back in 2012, the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) described the situation as “unacceptable from a flight safety perspective”. “Fourteen years later, those words remain painfully relevant,” the statement said. The promised technical solution has still not been implemented, and direct communication between the Ankara and Nicosia area control centres has not been restored.

Since 2012, the situation has only deteriorated: Turkish military aircraft and drones regularly operate near key routes and Cyprus’s two international airports, Larnaca and Paphos. The statement also specifically mentioned the air traffic control tower at Ercan Airport in the TRNC: its instructions conflict with clearances issued by the Nicosia Area Control Centre and are not recognised under ICAO rules.

ATCEUC called on ICAO to ensure that all parties comply with its rules, urged the European Commission, Cyprus and Turkey to launch a new diplomatic initiative, and asked Eurocontrol to assess the risks to civil flights to Larnaca and Paphos in the Nicosia flight information region. Following the assessment, the unions propose agreeing on a roadmap with specific deadlines and designated responsible authorities.