Hermes Airports, operator of Cyprus’ Larnaka and Pafos hubs, returned from the CONNECT 2026 route-development forum in Lublin, Poland, with what it calls its “strongest summer order-book since the pandemic.” In a 21 February press note, the Air Service Development (ASD) team said it held 20 bilateral meetings with legacy, low-cost and charter carriers, focusing on schedule extensions and untapped city-pairs.(cbn.com.cy)
Early booking data suggest that demand from the United Kingdom and Poland—the island’s two fastest-growing inbound markets—will outpace 2025 by double-digits. Scandinavia and Switzerland also show brisk forward sales, while airlines from Spain and Italy are “evaluating permanent capacity rather than pure seasonal spikes,” according to ASD Director Maria Kouroupi.
Behind the upbeat numbers is a deliberate strategy to flatten Cyprus’ traffic curve. Winter seat capacity rose 16 percent year-on-year between November and January, driven by Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet adding shoulder-season frequencies. Hermes wants to lock in year-round service to at least four additional European cities and is dangling marketing support and reduced airport charges to clinch the deals.
![Hermes Airports courts new routes after CONNECT 2026 talks]()
Amid this surge in connectivity, travelers shouldn’t overlook the paperwork needed to enter or transit Cyprus. VisaHQ’s dedicated Cyprus page (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/) lets individuals and corporate travel planners arrange visas, passport renewals and other travel documents online, complete with real-time status updates and expert support. The one-stop platform can save precious time for companies rushing assignees to Nicosia or families coordinating a smooth relocation during the expanded shoulder season.
For corporate-mobility managers the message is two-fold. First, more nonstop options from secondary European airports will cut connection times for assignees heading to technology parks around Nicosia and the burgeoning i-gaming cluster in Limassol. Second, better shoulder-season connectivity could make Cyprus postings more family-friendly, smoothing visa timing for dependants and reducing relocation-flight costs.
The operator cautions that air-service growth still depends on political stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and on continued labour-peace with ground-handling unions. Nevertheless, the Lublin talks underscore Cyprus’ intention to pivot from purely sun-and-sea charter traffic toward a diversified, all-year business and leisure mix.
Early booking data suggest that demand from the United Kingdom and Poland—the island’s two fastest-growing inbound markets—will outpace 2025 by double-digits. Scandinavia and Switzerland also show brisk forward sales, while airlines from Spain and Italy are “evaluating permanent capacity rather than pure seasonal spikes,” according to ASD Director Maria Kouroupi.
Behind the upbeat numbers is a deliberate strategy to flatten Cyprus’ traffic curve. Winter seat capacity rose 16 percent year-on-year between November and January, driven by Ryanair, Wizz Air and easyJet adding shoulder-season frequencies. Hermes wants to lock in year-round service to at least four additional European cities and is dangling marketing support and reduced airport charges to clinch the deals.
Amid this surge in connectivity, travelers shouldn’t overlook the paperwork needed to enter or transit Cyprus. VisaHQ’s dedicated Cyprus page (https://www.visahq.com/cyprus/) lets individuals and corporate travel planners arrange visas, passport renewals and other travel documents online, complete with real-time status updates and expert support. The one-stop platform can save precious time for companies rushing assignees to Nicosia or families coordinating a smooth relocation during the expanded shoulder season.
For corporate-mobility managers the message is two-fold. First, more nonstop options from secondary European airports will cut connection times for assignees heading to technology parks around Nicosia and the burgeoning i-gaming cluster in Limassol. Second, better shoulder-season connectivity could make Cyprus postings more family-friendly, smoothing visa timing for dependants and reducing relocation-flight costs.
The operator cautions that air-service growth still depends on political stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and on continued labour-peace with ground-handling unions. Nevertheless, the Lublin talks underscore Cyprus’ intention to pivot from purely sun-and-sea charter traffic toward a diversified, all-year business and leisure mix.
