Cyprus airline to start Greece, UK flights

Nicosia / AFP

A Cyprus-based budget airline, Cobalt, announced it will launch passenger flights to Greece and Britain from June.
Cobalt said it was granted an Air Operator Certificate after a successful test flight with its first Cyprus-registered Airbus A320 from Larnaca to Heraklion in Greece.
Its chairman, Gregory Diacou, said the carrier will begin flights to Athens on June 1, with UK and other European routes starting later next month.
By the end of June, Cobalt aims to add three more aircraft to its fleet, raising the total to 4 flying out of Larnaca international airport.
“We have generated more than 100 new jobs locally and hundreds more will follow. Cyprus needs and deserves a strong home carrier with global ambitions,” said Diacou.
He said the company also plans to fly to non-European destinations, such as Israel, Lebanon, Russia, Iran and Egypt.
The shutdown of bankrupt national carrier Cyprus Airways in January 2015 created “a vacuum in terms of an airline that put Cyprus first and promotes the island as its home”, said Diacou.
The Mediterranean island’s two biggest tourist markets are the UK followed by Russia.
Next year, Cobalt plans to add long-haul destinations such as China, South Africa and the United States. It is one of three Cypriot companies that have requested an air operator’s certificate (AOC) from the island’s civil aviation department.
Around 70 airlines fly to and from the Mediterranean island whose economy relies heavily on tourism.
Cyprus tourist arrivals hit a 14-year high in 2015 reaching 2.65 million, and income from tourism accounts for around 12 percent of GDP.