When Was Paphos Airport Built:
Paphos International Airport (PFO) was originally built in 1982. However, the airport itself was officially opened for operations in November 1983.
The construction of the airport commenced in the early 1980’s. The airport was designed and built to help support the increased footfall of tourism to the island and in Western Cyprus.
This was a significant decision after the closure of the main International airport in Nicosia. Nicosia International Airport was closed, soon after the events in 1974 and Turkish invasion.
Before Paphos Airport Was Built:
Prior to Paphos Airport being built and opening, visitors to the island had to fly into Larnaca Airport. The transfer time from Larnaca Airport to Paphos was several hours by road and as a result of the new airport in Paphos, it reduced the transfer time to the resort of Paphos. Now, the transfer time to Paphos from Paphos Airport is around 20 minutes. Due to this quick transfer time, it has helped make Paphos become one of the most popular holiday destinations in Mediterranean.
The original airport was small but a major expansion took place in 2008, after the airport was bought by Hermes Airports Limited in 2006.
The first commercial flight from Paphos Airport was in March 1984. The airline was a Cyprus Airways flight to Athens.
When Was Paphos Airport Built – 10 Interesting Facts:
1.Main Gateway: Paphos Airport is now one of the main gateways to the island and Western Cyprus.
2. Proximity To Paphos: The airport was built close to the villages of Timi and Acheleia approximately 10 miles (17 kilometers) from Paphos itself.
3. Built For Tourism: Paphos Airport was primarily built for tourism and to help accommodate the growing number of visitors to Western Cyprus.
4. Very Small Terminal: When Paphos Airport was originally built, the airport was very small. In fact, the airport could only handle around 200 passengers at any one time.
5. Runway Extension: Due to the rapid increase of tourism to the island of Cyprus during the 1980’s, the runway was extended, taxiways were improved and extra facilities in the terminal were added in the late 1980’s.
6. Hermes Takeover: In 2006 Hermes bought and took over the operations at the airport. As a result of the take over, the airport was rebuilt, extended and modernised.
7. New Terminal: In 2008, the new terminal was opened introducing new facilities, more check-in desks and amenities for passengers. As a result, Paphos Airport can now accommodate up to 2.7 million passengers per year.
8. Civilian and Military: Paphos Airport now functions as both a civilian and Military airport.
9. Second Busiest Airport: Paphos Airport is now the second busiest airport in Cyprus. The busiest airport in Cyprus is Larnaca International Airport (LCA).
10. Increased Visitors: To this date, Paphos Airport has continued to grow and now receives over 3,5 million passengers each year. As a result of this growth, there are future plans to further increase the passenger capacity of the airport.
We hope this short guide has helped answer the frequently asked question ‘When was Paphos Airport built?’.