The government approved on Tuesday a bill providing for the establishment of a state-owned private company to offer aeronautical services, opening a new page in the field of air traffic control, Minister of Transport, Communication and Works Marios Demetriades has said.

The government believes the new company, that will undertake air traffic services from the state-owned Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), will tackle the long-standing problem of delays in Cyprus` air space.

“We are opening a new page, a huge change in the field of air traffic control, a sector that has caused problems to Cyprus in past years,” Demetriades said speaking to CNA, adding that efforts began more than three years ago with the assistance of Eurocontrol, the European Organization for the safety of air navigation.

On Tuesday the Cyprus Council of Ministers approved two bills; a bill providing for the setting up of a private state-owned company that will provide air traffic services and a second bill amending the DCA law. The bills will be submitted to Parliament for approval.

“This effort should go ahead because this is the only way to achieve results and reduce delays in our air space permanently” he said, adding any other past solutions were short-lived.

He also said traffic in Cyprus` air space has been increasing in the past several years due to problems in the region as well as the increase in air traffic in Cyprus.

“Therefore we believe it is very important for this law to be approved and to set up the new company and address the delays,” he said, recalling that Cyprus was under close scrutiny both from Eurocontrol and the European Commission on the matter.

Cyprus is among the top twenty delay-generating locations in Europe, according to Eurocontrol.