Tuesday, 25 July 2023
Passengers at the new terminal at Ercan Airport have experienced delays because of power cuts including one on the evening it was opened, Yeniduzen reports.
This meant that luggage carousels were brought to a standstill and the air bridges could not be disengaged from planes standing on the apron. The power cut lasted for five hours, meaning that passengers had to endure long queues while waiting for the power to be reconnected; all this less than one week after the terminal was opened. Meanwhile, some flight were cancelled leading to uproar at the airport and passengers storming the representative airline offices at the airport.
The Director of the Civil Aviation Department Mustafa Sofi said that 20 aircraft and about 3,000 passengers were affected by the power cuts, and that flights returned to normal as of 11.30 pm.
Kib-Tek said that before opening the new terminal its electricians were not able to make final checks on the supply which according to EL-SEN General Secretary Ahmet Tuğcu, is only a temporary electricity supply laid on for construction.
The opening of the new terminal was said to have been rushed in order to fit in with the opening date on 20 July – Peace and Freedom Day.
Ercan’s new terminal was scheduled to open in 2016 but completion has been plagued by endless delays, including disagreements with the contractor and, more recently, by the electricians union EL-SEN strikes.
