Cyprus‘ government has called for what it calls “illegal airports” on the island to close — a reference to the Tymbou (Ercan in Turkish) facility in the island’s Turkish-controlled zone.
According to local media, government spokesman Prodromos Prodromou on Friday told reporters at an air-safety event that the skies over the island were safe.
However, he also called for improvements in the country’s civil aviation sector to deal with issues with Turkey.
Legally, Cypriot airspace is covered by the Nicosia Flight Information Region (FIR) but in reality the skies over the north of the island are controlled by Turkish Cypriots in cooperation with Ankara. There is little communication between the two competing air-traffic control systems on the island.
Two days ago international air traffic control agency Eurocontrol warned airlines to exercise caution in the eastern Mediterranean due to the possible launch of airstrikes into Syria.
The Nicosia FIR named in the Eurocontrol statement on Tuesday covers the island of Cyprus and surrounding waters.
It cautioned that “due consideration needs to be taken when planning flight operations in the Eastern Mediterranean/Nicosia FIR area,” referring to the designated airspace.