Summary

• Ercan International Airport in Northern Cyprus only serves Turkish flights due to political conflicts.
• The airport has a long history, dating back to the Second World War when it operated as a military airbase.
• Despite its operational limitations, Ercan Airport recently underwent significant expansion, including a new terminal and extended runway.

In the unrecognized de facto state of Northern Cyprus, there is an international airport that only serves aircraft and flights from Turkey. Ercan International Airport (ECN), or Lefkoşa Airport, as it is commonly referred to, is the main civilian airport in Northern Cyprus. It is situated about 8.1 mi (13 km) east of Nicosia.

Despite being one of the lesser-known international airports in Europe, its roots can be traced back to the Second World War. With Turkey being the sole country formally recognizing this de facto state, only Turkish flights can serve Ercan, including the national carrier Turkish Airlines. Other states consider it to be a part of the Republic of Cyprus. Let's look at the history and operations of this small airport.

A brief history of Ercan Airport

Ercan International can be found near the village of Tymbou. Its predecessor, Tymvou Airport, was constructed by British forces during the World War, and operated as a military airport. During this time, Cyprus was a British Crown Colony administered by the UK. The nature of the conflict prompted the British to construct a military airbase in the north of Cyprus.

Cyprus became independent in 1960 but was the subject of a coup d'état in July 1974. Later that month, Turkish forces took control of the island, resulting in its partition. With the north of the island under Turkish control, it declared independence as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983.

Eventually, the facility's focus changed, with commercial air traffic playing an increasingly important role. Today, it serves as Northern Cyprus' main commercial airport, and has a 9,038-foot (3,200-meter) long asphalt-paved runway with headings 11/29 and an elevation of 403 feet (123 meters). However, the complex political situation regarding the recognition of Northern Cyprus limits airline operations.

Turkey-focused airline operations

Since 2006, only Turkish-registered aircraft have been able to use the airport. Similarly, Turkey is the only country that can be served directly by flights from Ercan International. In 2006, the Turkish government also launched plans to have direct connections to other countries from Northern Cyprus' main port, Famagusta, as well as Ercan, but the restrictions remain in place.

This means all flights from other European cities must stop in Turkey before proceeding to ECN. Today, three airlines have scheduled flights to the airport, namely Pegasus Airlines, SunExpress, and Turkish Airlines, including its low-cost subsidiary AnadoluJet (AJet). According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, there are 1,032 scheduled flights to Ercan International this month.

Pegasus is the top carrier to ECN with 559 scheduled flights and 111,087 seats, followed by Turkish with 455 flights, and then SunExpress with 18 flights. These carriers connect Ercan to nine airports in Turkey. According to the airport's website, it receives passengers from all over the world. Below are the destinations connected to ECN and the airlines serving the routes:

Security concerns and expansion

In 2017, T-Vine reported that security concerns from the UK meant that passengers on Ercan-Istanbul-London flights had to undergo secondary screening during their layover in Turkey. This prompted many travelers bound for Nicosia (the island's capital) to fly to Larnaca instead. The indirect flights took around seven hours, compared to less than five for Larnaca.

Despite the challenging circumstances under which it operates, Ercan Airport is going through a significant transformation. Last July, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan flew to Ercan to inaugurate a new terminal building and extended runway. "It will not be long before the new terminal and runway, which we have inaugurated today, are used for international flights," he said.

The runway was extended from 9,038 ft (2,755 m) to the current 10,498 ft (3,200 m), while a new terminal building was opened to accommodate more passengers annually. The Public Works and Transport Minister told Anadolu that the airport would be capable of handling over 8 million passengers per year. The facility would also generate about $32 million (€30 million) of annual public revenue.

Did you know about Ercan International Airport? Perhaps you've even flown to or from there via Turkey? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments.