The percentage of flights affected in Cyprus by the situation in European airports is smaller, according to deputy minister of Tourism Savvas Perdios, who advised the public to abstain from travelling in July and August.

Speaking after a memorial service in Paphos on Sunday, Perdios said what is positive is that we are not talking about hundreds and thousands of flights from Cyprus like other destinations such as Greece, Croatia, Spain and other countries.

Perdios said that there is no magic solution to the problem, and with the demand for travelling being high, airlines have not managed to properly staff their companies yet. He also said that if passengers postpone their travels after July and August, that will help not only themselves but also the airlines and airports.

He also said that the Deputy Ministry of Tourism may be advertising for the summer however in a way people abroad understand that the summer of Cyprus is extended until November. In this way we also help the airlines, the airports, the agents who make the reservations and so on, he noted.

He also said that this year is better, according to the official statistics for arrivals in the last five months provided by the Statistical Service, adding “we are at about 75% at the moment regarding arrivals compared to 2019”.

He said this is satisfactory, under the circumstances, because we had to handle the repercussions of Russia invading Ukraine and the Omicron mutation of COVID-19 which pushed Cyprus into taking strict health measures.

Perdios admitted that this year will not be without problems as the number of travellers lost from Russia and Ukraine is big.

However, he said timely actions undertaken by the Deputy Ministry of Tourism managed to mitigate these losses.