Paphos Life

A virtual walk at the old Nicosia Airport is now possible thanks to a project titled Recapturing the Spirit of the Old Nicosia Airport by the Cyprus Institute. ...

Read the article and chat about it below...

I have really strong emotional feelings when I see the Trident Sun Jet standing in this state near the runway....

It was the plane I had my first flight to Cyprus in 1970 from Frankfurt/Germany when it was just possible to travel to Cyprus from there.


Max

I remember using the airport in 1953 to return to Britain. The "lounge" was pretty much a comfort-less shack. The passengers had to walk quite a distance in the blazing sun to climb into the waiting DC3, run by British European Airways. The first part of the flight was to Athens where the passengers were taken to a hotel and offered an evening meal. When I woke up the following morning I had a magnificent view of the Acropolis from my bedroom window. The flight resumed that afternoon to (I think) Frankfurt, where a load of cartons was placed on the seats. I was the only passenger flying on to London, so I was kicked up into the first-class row, to leave more room for the freight. The hostess said that as I was in first class, I was given first-class treatment, including a delicious fresh Scotch salmon salad for the main course (no hot meals in those days)!

What I remember was, that due to the heat at Nicosia, it was not possible to fill up the plane with enough fuel to reach Frankfurt as the runway was too short for that. So there was a extra stop at Athens for fuel. The plane just managed taking off the last meters of the runway... not a nice feeling that was. However, my stay at Cyprus was so impressive for me that the dream to emigrate one day to Cyprus was born, and 13 years later I did it.

Max

I flew into Nicosia Airport on an RAF Britannia flightq! In 1968. Usually, RAF aircraft flew to Akrotiri from UK via Malta.We landed there due to the runway being closed for re surfacing in August of that year. I remember walking in Blazing heat to the terminal building. It wasn't a particularly smart or comfortable place. I remember it seemed dark in comparison to the sunshine outside. I remember check in counters were grey coloured and seating similar in colour and utilitarian.
A friend of my husbands was working for Cyprus Airways in 1974, he was one of two BEA pilots who flew the BEA flight into Nicosia, the afternoon before the invasion. At that time he was based in Cyprus and his family were living in a flat in kyrenia. As he drove his car home from the airport, he noticed military ships were anchored off the north coast.
However, his wife who was in UK that August with their young children, had asked him to bring some items from the flat back with him, when he flew back to UK, the following day.
Although uneasy, he arrived back at his flat. Planning to leave again early next morning.
But he was awakened by gun fire, as the invasion started very early. He went out in the street and was met by a friend who told him the Turkish troops had already landed. There was a lot of gun fire.He was advised to go with any other Brits still in Kyrenia, to the Dome Hotel.
There the Manager took them all down to the cellars there. They were in hiding there for 3 days and nights. Until word came that a Royal Naval warship was anchored off shore. They were allowed to go to the beach, where all present were taken out and boarded the war ship. Thus they were not shot or captured by the Turkish Army and were taken to Akrotiri and in due course flown back to UK. A lucky escape!
Dee