Sunday, 21 August 2022
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, Fikri Ataoğlu paid a visit to the new terminal building at Ercan Airport, which has not yet been put into service, Yeniduzen reported.
Ataoğlu was accompanied by Ministry Undersecretary Serhan Aktunç, TT Airport General Manager Serhat Özçelik and airport technical staff.
The tourism minister said during his visit that the new airport will be of great importance for the 2023 tourism season, and that the aim is to open the new terminal building on 15 November to mark the anniversary of the founding of the TRNC.
Ataoğlu said that an initiative to ensure a heavy flow of foreign tourists arriving from Turkey had been launched.
He added that the new terminal building will enable wide-bodied aircraft to park, and has the capacity to serve 26 large aircraft at the same time.
Ataoğlu said that previously, Ercan could only serve smaller aircraft. He noted that now costs of travel would be lowered because more passengers could be transported in larger aircraft.
The minister also said that the new airport building is ready, apart from electricity and lighting, and noted that the electricity supply and lighting will be completed in September. Following which, there will be a testing phase.
If all these are satisfactory, the terminal will open on November 15.
The terminal was originally scheduled to open in October 2020, However, the pandemic among other issues, delayed the opening date. [Ed.]
