Cyprus airports handle more than 50,000 passengers a day: where queues are forming

At the height of the tourist season, Larnaca and Paphos airports handle tens of thousands of travellers every day. According to the Xovis passenger flow monitoring system, the longest waiting times in July were recorded at passport control on arrival.

Between 1 and 24 July, Larnaca Airport handled an average of around 37,000 passengers a day, while Paphos Airport handled around 16,000. Approximately 230 flights passed through Larnaca each day, compared with around 95 through Paphos.

The Xovis system, used by operator Hermes Airports, analyses passenger movements in real time and records waiting times at the main stages of the airport journey.

At Larnaca Airport, 95% of passengers cleared passport control on departure in less than 13 minutes and passed through security screening in less than 3 minutes. However, passport control on arrival was the longest stage: 95% of passengers cleared it in less than 19 minutes, although the maximum waiting time reached 45 minutes.

At Paphos Airport, the process was faster: passport control on departure took less than 9 minutes for 95% of passengers, security screening took less than 4 minutes, and passport control on arrival took less than 10 minutes. The maximum wait was 27 minutes.

Hermes Airports notes that waiting times depend directly on the number of staff working at the checkpoints and on passenger traffic during specific hours. Monday, Wednesday and Saturday remain the busiest days.