Ercan International Airport (Turkish: Ercan Uluslararası Havalimanı pronounced [æɾˈdʒan uɫusɫaɾaɾaˈsɯ havalimaˈnɯ]) (IATA: ECN, ICAO: LCEN) is the primary civilian airport of the internationally unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It is located about 13 km east of North Nicosia, near the village of Kirklar.
Flights to the airport are banned internationally. Non-stop flights only take place from Turkey, which is the only country to recognise Northern Cyprus, and all planes that fly to Northern Cyprus from other countries have to stop over in Turkey.
Because of these difficulties and inconveniencies, the majority of Turkish Cypriots with Republic of Cyprus passports prefer to use Larnaca International Airport, which is located in the internationally-recognised, government-controlled part of Cyprus; this option is not available, however, to Turkish settlers.
The precursor of Ercan Airport, Tymvou Airport, was constructed by the British in World War II as a military airport, during their colonial rule of the island. Following the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus and the partition of the island into it was occupied by the Turkish army, and today it is used as the main civilian airport of Northern Cyprus.
Since 2006, the rule which stipulates that flights are required to touch down at a Turkish airport before continuing to and from Ercan has been under discussion. In 2006, the Turkish government began discussions for Northern Cyprus's main port Famagusta, and main civilian airport Ercan, to be able to operate direct connections, with the UK government describing it as a "significant and creative offer".
However, as of 2017 the rule still applies, and Ercan airport has seen a more than 400% decrease in customers, as a result of new tight security measures imposed by the UK Department for Transport questioning the status of the airport and forcing passengers travelling between Britain and Northern Cyprus to disembark with their luggage and go through a fresh security check in Turkey in order to board a new aircraft for their final destination.
A new terminal is currently under construction. It will be much larger than the existing and have 8 airbridges. A new runway is also being constructed alongside the existing one.
Due to the disputed international status of Northern Cyprus there are no non-stop scheduled flights between Ercan and destinations outside of Turkey. However, several airlines operate direct flights from Ercan to Europe with intermediate stops in Turkey.
^ a b "LCEN" in widespread use, including by the ICAO (e.g. here), however the code does not appear in an official ICAO List.
^ "Students Flock to Universities in Northern Cyprus". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
^ "Europe diary: Island isolation". BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
^ "Turkey "will open up to Cyprus"". BBC News. 7 December 2006.
^ "Northern Cyprus airport for sale". Hurriyet. 27 December 2008.
^ "Turkish Airlines to fully move to Istanbul New in late 4Q18". ch-aviation.com. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
^ "Timetable". turkishairlines.com. 16 October 2018. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
Airport information for LCEN at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
Airport information for LCEN at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
This page was last edited on 12 April 2019, at 20:00 (UTC).