Tourist Arrivals and Flight Load Factors Increase in Cyprus

The load factor of planes arriving in Cyprus last month reached 85%, with numbers continuing to rise as the peak tourist season approaches. The summer season has begun more robustly than anticipated, with notable increases in tourists from Israel and Russia.

Hermes Airports, the operator of Cyprus' airports, reports that approximately 41,000 passengers are arriving or departing from Larnaca and Paphos airports each day.

"The summer season began much better than we expected at the start of the year, especially given the initial loss of airline seats due to the conflict in Israel and issues with an airline that had to reduce its flights to Cyprus," said Maria Kouroupi, Director of Aviation Development and Communications at Hermes Airports.

Kouroupi added that in recent months, most of the lost seats have been recovered. Regarding Israeli arrivals, she noted that they are at about 90% of the usual numbers for this time of year, thanks to an airline adding extra seats from Israel.

"We're seeing a nearly complete return to the flight schedule," said Kouroupi.

In May, the number of arrivals increased by 4% compared to the previous year, and total arrivals from January to May rose by 5% year-over-year.

The majority of passengers are tourists, indicating strong prospects for Cyprus' tourism industry this year.

New routes added this year include Belfast in Northern Ireland, Nantes in France, Tallinn in Estonia, Radom in Poland, and Liverpool in the United Kingdom.

Several seasonal routes from various regional airports in Northern Europe have also been introduced, and the availability of flights from the UK and Poland has increased.

As for the Russian market, Kouroupi noted that despite the lack of direct flights from Russia to Cyprus, there is a steady flow of Russian tourists arriving through other countries.