Larnaca International Airport (Greek: A , Turkish: Larnaka Uluslararas Havaalan) (IATA: LCA, ICAO: LCLK) is an international airport located 4 km (2.5 mi) southwest^[1] of Larnaca, Cyprus. Larnaca International Airport is Cyprus' main international gateway and the larger of the country's two commercial airports, the other being Paphos International Airport on the island's southwestern coast. The airport has one primary passenger terminal. Departures are accommodated on the upper level, while arrivals at the ground level. A second "VIP terminal" also exists, which is used for visiting Heads of State, some private aviation, and for cargo.

The airport utilises a single large apron for all passenger aircraft. There are 16 jetways (boarding bridges), connecting the main terminal with aircraft, while there is a provision for utilization of shuttle buses to convey passengers during hours of extreme traffic. Infrastructure also features a large engineering hangar, a cargo terminal, and separate facilities for fuelling and provisioning light aircraft. There is a VIP terminal also. There is a second, smaller apron where cargo aircraft and private aircraft are often parked. There are also spaces for smaller aircraft for flying schools and privately owned aircraft separate from the main two aprons. The Larnaca airport is rank at 64th of Top 100 busiest airports in Europe.^[2]

History

Larnaca Airport was hastily developed towards the end of 1974 after the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey on 20 July of the same year, which forced the closure of Nicosia International Airport. The site on which it was built (near the Larnaca Salt Lake), had been previously used as an airfield in the 1930s and, subsequently, as a military installation by the British forces. Larnaca International opened on 8 February 1975, with only limited infrastructure facilities and a prefabricated set of buildings comprising separate halls for departures and arrivals. The first airlines to use the new airport were Cyprus Airways using Viscount 800s leased from British Midland and Olympic Airways using NAMC YS-11s. Initially, the runway at Larnaca International was too short for jet aircraft.

Nowadays, Larnaca Airport is used as a hub by passengers travelling between Europe and the Middle East. The status of Cyprus as a major tourist destination means that air traffic has steadily risen to over 5 million passengers a year. This is double the capacity the airport was first designed for. For this reason, a tender was put out in 1998 to develop the airport further and increase its capacity (see below). Already completed elements of the expansion include a new control tower, fire station, runway extension, and additional administrative offices. The surrounding road network was improved by upgrading the B4 road and by completing the A3 Motorway.

A new Junction has been constructed near the new terminal. The new terminal was built some 500700 m (1,6002,300 ft) west of the old terminal, adjacent to the new control tower, with new aprons and jetways. The old terminal building is slated to be partially demolished and refurbished as a cargo centre, and is currently used as a private terminal for visiting heads of state, VIPs, and private aircraft operators.

The concept architectural design of the passenger terminal was developed by French architects at Aéroports de Paris (ADP) with Sofréavia in France. Detail and Tender design was completed in Cyprus by 1998, with local architectural office Forum Architects and a large engineering team under the coordination of ADP. The design was later used as a base for the BOT projects of both Larnaca and Pafos International Airports though significant changes were made mainly on "value engineering" grounds. A large amount of controversy spurred by the local media surrounded the granting of the contract when it was put out to tender. A consortium led by BAA^{[clarification needed]} and Joannou & Paraskevaides (J&P) construction quickly pulled out when it did not receive assurances from the government of Cyprus that it would receive financial compensation in the event that direct flights were allowed between the Turkish occupied north of the island and the rest of the world. The contract was eventually hastily granted to the next best bidder, the French led 'Hermes' Consortium. This too, was not free of controversy, causing legal challenges by BAA and J&P, and adding further delays to a much needed project.

New terminal

A 650m upgrade of the Larnaca and Paphos airports has been completed,^[3] representing Cyprus's first Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) project^{[citation needed]}. The international tender was won by Hermes Airports, a French-led group. The consortium is made up of Bouygues Batiment International (22%) Egis Projects (20%), the Cyprus Trading Corporation (a local retail group-10%), Iacovou Brothers (a local contractor-10%), Hellenic Mining (10%), Vancouver Airport Services (10%), Ireland's Dublin Airport Authority (Aer Rianta International) (10%), Charilaos Apostolides (a local construction company-5%) and Nice Côte d'Azur Airport (3%). Hermes Airports built new passenger terminals and plans to extend the runways at both airports under a 25-year concession. A new terminal building opened on 7 November 2009.^[4] It has 16 jetways (boarding bridges), 67 check in counters, 8 self check-in kiosks, 48 departure gates, 2,450 parking spots. The new terminal can handle 7.5 million passengers per year. The second phase, to be completed in 2013, provides for the expansion of the new terminal to handle 9 million passengers a year, and for a 500 m (1,600 ft) runway extension. The design of the new 98,000 m² (1,050,000 sq ft) terminal includes 16 boarding bridges and is intended to reflect the proportions of a medieval aqueduct located in the city.^[5][6]

Airport shopping area

The airport has a shopping area of 6000 square meters and travelers have easy access to all sections of shops which sell luxury goods, sporting goods, stationery, toys, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, electronic goods, all from largest brands. Also there are over 19 places to eat or drink.

Larnaca Airport Facilities for Disabled

Larnaca Airport is well equipped for people with special needs or with reduced mobility. Larnaca Airports special facilities include of disabled toilets, lifts, wheelchairs, micro-lifts, as well as car parking spaces. Parking spaces for people with limited mobility are located in front of P1 (short term Larnaca Airport parking zone). The first 120 minutes are free of charge, however after the mentioned time, drivers are charged with standard parking rates, you can check Larnaca Airport Parking rates here. To have 120 minutes free parking, drivers should go to the Parking office at the front of the Terminal building prior to leaving Larnaca Airport and show their Disability Badge to get their car park ticket validated.

Airlines and destinations

Note: - Charter airlines and their destinations

Cargo Airlines

Ground transport

The airport can be reached by car, taxi and public transport system. There is a shuttle bus system from both Limassol^[11] Nicosia. Some hotels offer shuttle services from the airport to their establishment. Taxis are available 24 hours a day from outside the main entrance of Larnaca International Airport (LCA) and are mainly private operators providing services to Larnaca town and popular beachfront hotels. Fares are displayed on a board in the Arrivals Hall. There are no limousine companies operating from out of Larnaca International Airport. However, companies offering such services may be available from Larnaca town. Visitors requiring a limousine are advised to make the necessary enquiries ahead of their arrival at the airport.^[12]

Public transport

Public transport buses are available from bus stops outside the airport to various locations in Larnaca where one may change bus routes to other destinations in the island. There are also direct intercity buses serving the airport linking other towns and cities with Larnaca airport. Information regarding these is available at Cyprus Bus Timetables.

Private company Kapnos Airport Shuttle Ltd. operates limited-stop coach services to Larnaca airport from Nicosia.

Other facilities

At one time Helios Airways had its head office on the airport property.^[13]

Incidents and accidents

• On 13 October 1977, Lufthansa Flight 181 flying from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt with 91 passengers and crew was hijacked by four Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) members, and was diverted and landed in turn at the airports in Rome, Larnaca, Bahrain and Dubai.^[14] The Boeing 737 was then forced to fly on to Mogadishu Airport, Somalia, where a German antiterrorist squad stormed the plane, killing 3 hijackers, arresting one and rescuing all passengers.
• On 19 February 1978, Larnaca Airport was the scene of a 1-hour gun battle between Unit 777, an Egyptian military counter-terrorism force, who had raided Larnaca International, and the Cypriot National Guard.

The crisis had begun the previous day, when Youssef Sebai, editor of a prominent Egyptian newspaper and friend of Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat, was assassinated at the Nicosia Hilton hotel by two gunmen. Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) members then hijacked a Cyprus Airways DC-8 plane taking several Egyptian hostages. They forced the plane to approach several countries including Libya, Syria and Djibouti, but each time their request to land was refused, so the plane was forced to return to Larnaca Airport. Egypt then dispatched its entire antiterrorist squad aboard a C-130 Hercules to deal with the hijacking; however, doing so without the consent of the Cypriot government. On landing in Larnaca the commandos launched an all-out assault on the DC-8, even as Cypriot negotiators had secured the hostage-takers' surrender. Cypriot President Spyros Kyprianou and other senior officials observing the events on site were forced to retreat from the airport control tower after it was hit by bullets. The crisis ended after the Cypriot National Guard overpowered the Egyptian commandos. 15 members of the 74-man Egyptian anti-terrorist unit died. There were no Cypriot fatalities. President Kyprianou offered reconciliation and apologies, but maintained that Cyprus could not have allowed the Egyptians to act. Frosty diplomatic relations between the two countries persisted for some time. Two Palestinian hijackers were swiftly prosecuted. They received death sentences, later reduced to life imprisonment.^[15][16][17]

• On 5 April 1988, a Kuwait Airways Boeing 747 (Kuwait Airways Flight 422) was hijacked, while en route from Thailand to Kuwait. After forcing the plane to fly to Iran, the hijackers forced the crew to fly the plane back east to Algeria, but the plane landed in Larnaca for refuelling. Two Kuwaiti hostages were executed by the hijackers and their bodies were thrown out on the airports runway. The hijacking ended in Algeria on 20 April 1988.^[18]
• As a result of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis, the Lebanese airline Middle East Airlines evacuated its fleet to Larnaca International Airport.
• Also as a result of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis, a Canadian military aircraft carrying Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Canadian citizens fleeing the war, landed in Larnaca. Cyprus served as a safe haven for many nationals during the crisis. The Prime Minister was coming home from a visit to Afghanistan but landed in Lebanon to pick-up Canadians stranded, and took them back to Canada.
• On 28 August 2007, three construction workers were injured when a complete 5 × 40 m (16 × 130 ft) concrete floor collapsed at the construction site for the new Larnaca International Airport passenger terminal.^[19][20]

References

External links

• Larnaca International Airport
• Current weather for LCLK at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for LCA at Aviation Safety Network