Antoniades calls settlement key to flight safety — Cyprus Mail
In Cyprus, acting Director of the Civil Aviation Department Haris Antoniades said that the long-standing flight safety problems in the Nicosia Flight Information Region can be definitively resolved through a settlement of the Cyprus issue, Cyprus Mail reports.
Antoniades noted that Cyprus' air traffic control services cooperate with Greece, Israel, Lebanon and Egypt, while communication with Syria resumed after the crisis in that country. In his view, Cyprus and Turkey should interact as two neighboring states coordinating air traffic management.
FIR and airspace
The official stressed the difference between the Nicosia FIR and Cyprus' national airspace. The Republic of Cyprus exercises sovereignty over the airspace above its territory and territorial waters, while within the broader Nicosia Flight Information Region it is responsible for providing air traffic services.
According to Antoniades, violations of national airspace include, in particular, aircraft landing at Tymbou Airport, also known as Ercan. In international airspace within the FIR, he explained, the issue is non-compliance with the air traffic management rules and procedures applied by the Republic of Cyprus.
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Communication between air traffic control services
Antoniades called the lack of communication between the air traffic control services of Tymbou and the Republic of Cyprus the most serious problem. He also said that the lack of communication between air traffic management centers in Ankara and Nicosia is a long-standing issue.
In his assessment, the lack of communication, together with Turkish activity in the Nicosia FIR, creates flight safety risks that the Cypriot authorities currently consider manageable. If the Civil Aviation Department concludes that the risks cannot be safely controlled, it may take additional measures, including closing the FIR or reducing air traffic.
The issue was considered at a joint meeting of the parliamentary committees on defense and transport. Staffing needs, modernization of air traffic management center systems, and a proposal to establish a state-owned air navigation company were also discussed there.
