Opening of the new terminal at Paphos International Airport

The long-awaited new terminal at Paphos International Airport was inaugurated on November 8 by Cyprus' President, Demetris Christofias and is officially opening to traffic on November 17 2008. Paphos airport currently handles over 1.7 million passengers per year and the new terminal is expected to increase the capacity to reach as many as 2.7 million.

The terminal, which covers 18,000m2, was developed by the Hermes Airports consortium with an investment of €126 million. The new terminal is the first project to be completed by Hermes Airports under its 25-year contract of construction, development and operation of both Larnaca and Paphos airports, which was signed in May 2006. In addition to the new terminal, the airport runway is being extended to 3,100m to allow larger aircraft to land.

Paphos International Airport is located 16km from the town of Paphos. It is the island's second airport after Larnaca and is mostly used by tourists. Passenger facilities include 20 check-in desks, 5 gates, 14 aircraft stands, a bank, restaurants, cafeterias, bars, a duty free shop and a gift shop.

The shopping zone is split into two, with one 575m2 main store featuring the core categories of beauty, liquor, tobacco and confectionery. A second store, of around 250m2, offers fashion, electronics, jewellery and books. It also offers 150 short-term parking spaces as well as long-term parking with 24-hour security. Other facilities include a tourist information desk, car rental, first aid room, baby care room and disabled access facilities. A new 4-lane road is now being planned, which will link the airport to Paphos town so passengers can avoid the existing, often heavily congested roads.