Events and crystal balls
highlander1715:
Hi Sami,
I note it has just been announced that Nicosia's airport will close in 1974. I wish I had that kind of crystal ball - then I would know that the Turks were going to invade the island and split it in two just short of the runway. I well remember Regimental Corporal Major Kersting of the Irish Guards standing at the roundabout at the entrance to the airport turning back the Turkish M48 tanks as the UN base was already located adjacent to the airfield. Spent almost a year with UNFICYP based at the Airport in 1976.
If your crystal ball is on full power perhaps you will announce the hastily developed Larnaca airport to open in December 1974 to carry the traffic the Turkish invasion disrupted.
Kind regards,
Graham
highlander1715:
My apologies RCM Kersting hailed from Ireland but served with the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry,
Graham
highlander1715:
Sorry for the disjointed post - I didn't realize Larnaca couldn't take jets initially:
'Larnaca Airport was hastily developed towards the end of 1974 after the invasion of Cyprus by Turkey on 20 July of the same year, which forced the closure of Nicosia International Airport. The site on which it was built (near the Larnaca Salt Lake), had been previously used as an airfield in the 1930s and, subsequently, as a military installation by the British forces. Larnaca International opened on 8 February 1975, with only limited infrastructure facilities and a prefabricated set of buildings comprising separate halls for departures and arrivals. The first airlines to use the new airport were Cyprus Airways using Viscount 800s leased from British Midland and Olympic Airways using NAMC YS-11s. Initially, the runway at Larnaca International was too short for jet aircraft.'
From the Wikipedia article on Larnaca
I seem to remember that RAF Akrotiri might have been used as a temporary airport but that might have been for UN Military traffic and families only.
Kind regards,
Graham
sami:
yes, the crystal ball will also (automatically) announce the new airport soon (with automatic relocation)..
highlander1715:
But not for jets i take it?
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