More than 600 take-offs and landings are set to pass through Tymbou (Ercan) airport between 30 December and 4 January, according to operator T&T, underscoring the scale of unregulated air traffic flowing through the Turkish-controlled north of Cyprus. The six-day tally—106 flights on 30 Dec, 103 on 31 Dec and a projected peak of 121 on 4 Jan—marks one of the busiest periods since records began.
Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet and SunExpress have all laid on extra capacity to meet New-Year demand from the Turkish mainland, expatriate communities and tourists seeking low-cost access to the eastern Mediterranean. Because Tymbou is deemed “illegal” by the Republic of Cyprus and the International Civil Aviation Organization, flights must route via Turkish airspace, bypassing the island’s internationally recognised Flight Information Region.
For global-mobility managers the surge is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it offers cheap, frequent links into northern Cyprus for specialist contractors working on resort and casino projects. On the other, using the airport can violate corporate travel-policy rules and invalidate insurance coverage, as tickets are stamped by an unrecognised authority. Employees entering via Tymbou also risk fines or refusal of entry if they later cross into the south for meetings.
![Holiday Rush Sees 638 Flights Scheduled at Controversial Tymbou Airport in Northern Cyprus]()
Amid these uncertainties, VisaHQ’s Cyprus portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/) serves as a practical resource for travellers and corporate mobility teams alike, offering up-to-date entry guidance, expedited visa processing and compliance-tracking tools for routes via Larnaca, Paphos or onward Schengen and Turkish connections.
Cyprus’ Ministry of Transport reiterated on 31 December that the government will not “turn a blind eye” to the expansion and again urged airlines to avoid the facility. Travel-risk consultants are advising multinationals to brief staff on the political sensitivities, to log all touchpoints in the north for duty-of-care purposes and to consider rerouting via Larnaca or Paphos despite higher fares.
The holiday boom highlights the ongoing fragmentation of the island’s aviation market just months before Cyprus takes up the rotating EU Council presidency, where air-connectivity and single-market compliance are expected to feature high on the agenda.
Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, AJet and SunExpress have all laid on extra capacity to meet New-Year demand from the Turkish mainland, expatriate communities and tourists seeking low-cost access to the eastern Mediterranean. Because Tymbou is deemed “illegal” by the Republic of Cyprus and the International Civil Aviation Organization, flights must route via Turkish airspace, bypassing the island’s internationally recognised Flight Information Region.
For global-mobility managers the surge is a double-edged sword. On the one hand it offers cheap, frequent links into northern Cyprus for specialist contractors working on resort and casino projects. On the other, using the airport can violate corporate travel-policy rules and invalidate insurance coverage, as tickets are stamped by an unrecognised authority. Employees entering via Tymbou also risk fines or refusal of entry if they later cross into the south for meetings.
Amid these uncertainties, VisaHQ’s Cyprus portal (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/) serves as a practical resource for travellers and corporate mobility teams alike, offering up-to-date entry guidance, expedited visa processing and compliance-tracking tools for routes via Larnaca, Paphos or onward Schengen and Turkish connections.
Cyprus’ Ministry of Transport reiterated on 31 December that the government will not “turn a blind eye” to the expansion and again urged airlines to avoid the facility. Travel-risk consultants are advising multinationals to brief staff on the political sensitivities, to log all touchpoints in the north for duty-of-care purposes and to consider rerouting via Larnaca or Paphos despite higher fares.
The holiday boom highlights the ongoing fragmentation of the island’s aviation market just months before Cyprus takes up the rotating EU Council presidency, where air-connectivity and single-market compliance are expected to feature high on the agenda.
