Turkish Cypriot travel agencies’ association (Kitsab) chairman Orhan Tolun called for the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport to be treated as a domestic airport by Turkey.
His call comes amid a tough year for tourism in the north, with statistics also showing that many who do travel to the north from abroad are choosing to do so via Larnaca and Paphos airports, rather than via Ercan (Tymbou).
One of the reasons cited for this is the steep cost of flights to and from Ercan (Tymbou), and, as such, Tolun said a recategorisation of the airport as a Turkish domestic airport may help to curb those costs.
Were the airport to be treated as a domestic airport by Turkey, flights between Turkey and Ercan (Tymbou) would be subject to lower taxes than they are at present, given that the Turkish government taxes international flights at a much higher rate than domestic flights.
With this in mind, Tolun said that were Ercan (Tymbou) to be treated as a domestic flight, ticket prices could fall to as low as 5,000TL (€132).
He added that “the Turkish government should determine a ceiling and floor price for flights to the TRNC.”
“Conditions in the TRNC have reached a very bad point. Especially after the pandemic, market prices are out of control. Anyone can set any price they want, there is no control. We have the most expensive air fares in the world,” he said.
He then pointed out that the Turkish government has already implemented ceiling and floor prices for some domestic flights.
“For example, if you fly from Istanbul to Kars, the ticket price will be between 2,500TL (€66) and 4,500TL (€119). In our country, it can be 14,000TL (€371) or 24,000TL (€636),” he said.
He said that for this reason, price caps should be implemented with the aim of bringing ticket prices to and from Ercan (Tymbou) closer into line with equivalent prices from Larnaca and Paphos.
“People with a Republic of Cyprus identity card are all flying from Larnaca and Paphos. You can find a plane ticket from Larnaca to Malta for €100, but our ticket prices are very expensive,” he said.
However, while prices may fall should Ercan (Tymbou) be recategorised as a domestic airport in Turkey, other practicalities may be less appealing to many Turkish Cypriots.
Opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Dogus Derya had pointed out when the idea was first floated in 2022 that the airport being treated as a domestic airport in Turkey could mean no border control checks at Ercan (Tymbou) for passengers arriving from Turkey.
Alternatively, an arrangement to have Ercan (Tymbou) treated as a domestic airport in Turkey could see it treated similarly to how Dublin and Shannon airports in Ireland are by the United States.
There, passengers pass through US customs before boarding their flights from Ireland, thus effectively making their flight domestic. They then arrive as domestic passengers in the US.
Such an arrangement would therefore involve the stationing of Turkish border guards and customs officials in Cyprus, which would likely prove controversial.
