The self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which has been cut off from the outside world for nearly 50 years, recently unveiled a $500 million airport terminal in an effort to increase tourism.
The TRNC only has flights from Turkey and only Ankara recognizes it as a state, but the new terminal has made it yearn for ties elsewhere.
Cyprus has been split since 1974, when Turkey invaded the island in the east Mediterranean as retaliation for a coup organized by Greece.
Greek Cypriots make up the majority in the internationally recognized south, while Turkish Cypriots, Turkish colonists, and the military live in the northern third.
The sun-drenched tourist island is divided into two parts by a buffer zone that is patrolled by United Nations forces. Its airspace is also split.
The International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that coordinates standards in the sector, does not recognise the TRNC.
Mustafa Sofi, the north’s director of civil aviation, said it controls the northern part of the Nicosia Flight Information Region (FIR), as well as Ankara FIR under “special arrangement” for a total of 92,500 square kilometres (35,714 square miles).
According to UN resolutions, the north Nicosia-area Ercan airport and its new terminal are “not recognized by the international aviation community,” according to representatives of the Republic of Cyprus Department of Civil Aviation.
The authorities, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that since Turkey “cut the direct telephone line” following the invasion, there isn’t even indirect communication with Ankara FIR.
Only the southern portion of the island, where the decrepit and since the invasion unusable Nicosia international airport is located, is under Republic control of airspace.
The primary airport for the region’s south is located at Larnaca, right next to a well-liked beach where planes carrying visitors land.
