Flights to Northern Cyprus and UK

Northern Cyprus is serviced directly by one international airport called Ercan Airport; it’s located close to the capital of Nicosia (Lefkosia) and just a half hour’s drive from the centre of Kyrenia.

While direct flights are not officially available to Northern Cyprus from anywhere other than Turkey, flights to Northern Cyprus and UK regularly go direct with two flights leaving at the same time and one touching down in Turkey with the travellers wanting to alight on the mainland and the other flight continuing directly to North Cyprus or directly from Northern Cyprus to the UK.

Alternatives exist for those who want a guaranteed direct flight to Cyprus – now that the border is open between North and South for those with valid passports and visas it’s possible to fly to either Larnaca or Paphos and hire a car or get a taxi to Northern Cyprus.

Flights to Ercan Airport from the UK are offered by the likes of Cyprus Turkish Airlines and Turkish Airlines. The former have quite a poor reputation because they are often late, staff are regarded as surly and there usually isn’t enough leg room for a hamster. But in defence of Cyprus Turkish Airlines staff are actually efficient and well mannered and planes are clean and apparently safe!

It’s possible to fly from Heathrow and Stansted to Northern Cyprus and now that EasyJet have started offering cheap flights to Istanbul one cheap flight operator that flies between Ercan and Turkey is trying to link up flight times with EasyJet to enable those wishing to travel to the North but wanting affordable flight prices the opportunity to get cheap flights to Northern Cyprus.

The airline in question is Pegasus, it offers regular daily hops from Ercan to Turkey and it is cheap, efficient and some who live in Northern Cyprus have even flown to the mainland for a day trip!

In terms of getting flights to the UK from North Cyprus, there are many tour operators and travel agents in Kyrenia (Girne) and Nicosia (Lefkosia) and you can usually walk in, pay in cash and book there and then for next day flights. Prices start from as little as GBP 150 and it’s usually possible to have an open ticket for up to six weeks.

Ercan Airport offers free parking, which is another incentive to fly from the North of the island back to the UK, and because a number of flight operators run the two flight strategy enabling them to often miss landing in Turkey altogether it is becoming easier and easier to get between the UK and Northern Cyprus.