An Airbus A-350 wide-body aircraft with a capacity of 329 passengers landed at Ercan Airport for the first time. THY's scheduled Istanbul-Ercan flight TK 960 was welcomed with a water taxi, an aviation tradition.
Turkish Airlines' Airbus A350-900 type wide-body aircraft touched down on the runway of T&T Ercan Airport for the first time at 08.15 today and started its scheduled flights.
Prime Minister Ünal Üstel, Turkish Ambassador to Nicosia Metin Feyzioğlu, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, Minister of Public Works and Transport Erhan Arıklı, National Unity Party MP Ahmet Savaşan, some union representatives, bureaucrats and other officials attended the ceremony held at the airport.
During the ceremony, bouquets were presented to the cabin crew and speeches were made. Afterwards, a cake was cut.
ÜSTEL: OUR BIGGEST WINDOW TO THE WORLD...
In his speech here, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel stated that they witnessed a happy day together and thanked the THY officials and team for making this day possible.
Pointing out that since the day they came to the government, they said “we will finish whatever unfinished projects with the contributions of the motherland Republic of Turkey”, Üstel noted that they completed the construction of the new building and runway of Ercan Airport, which started in 2012, with the will of the government, with the great contributions of the Ambassador of Nicosia and with the great support of the motherland Turkey, and opened it to the use of the people on July 20.
“Saying ”Our biggest window to the world...“, Üstel reminded that after the opening of the new airport, they said that ”flights will be increased, wide-body planes will be landed, more tourists will be brought, costs will be reduced“. Emphasizing that they will turn the economic wheels while doing all these, Prime Minister Üstel said, ’2024 will be beautiful, better than 2023.”.
Expressing that the arrival of the wide-body aircraft created excitement for them, Üstel said that both the arrival of wide-body aircraft and the increase in the flights of Anadolu Jet to Ercan signaled that the problems in the economy in the country will gradually be overcome. Üstel thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and conveyed his greetings on behalf of his people.
Pointing to the events between Palestine and Israel, Üstel said, “But we have a homeland, the Republic of Turkey... We do not experience the captivity we experienced before 1974 after 1974. But next to us is Israel, Palestine... A world where even hospitals are bombed and our children die...”.
Stating that the new airport may have minor deficiencies, but that these will be completed in the process, Mr. Üstel noted that the picture they saw today was proud. Üstel emphasized that as the government, they will do their best for the TRNC to move forward even further.
FEYZİOĞLU A DREAM COME TRUE
Metin Feyzioğlu, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to Nicosia, said, “This was a dream come true, we made it come true all together” and stated that these are huge investments that underline the call of the President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, “Recognize the TRNC”.
“Emphasizing that ”TRNC is an independent, sovereign state and will live forever,“ Feyzioğlu said, ”You can only demonstrate this with the seals you put on this island.".
Feyzioğlu said that the new terminal building and the new runway where THY's wide-body aircraft, which has been long awaited for years, landed, means the seal of “this place is under the sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriots” and added, “This is why we are excited, this is why we are happy.”.
Metin Feyzioğlu thanked THY and expressed his hope that ticket prices would decrease and more flights would be organized, emphasizing that all state officials were working for this.
ATAOGLUOĞLU IT MAKES US HAPPY TO SEE THAT WE ARE SLOWLY REACHING OUR GOALS
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu said, “It is a very important day for us” and thanked the cabin crew for the wide-body plane landing.
Recalling the first days when they gave the good news that wide-bodied planes would land with the opening of Ercan Airport's new building and runway, Ataoğlu said, “I am really happy to live this day.” Ataoğlu thanked THY and airline companies for the added value they will bring to the country.
Pointing out that they are an island of tourism, Ataoğlu stated that they are working hard on air ticket prices. “We are happy to see that we are slowly reaching our goals with the arrival of wide-body aircraft to the country,” Ataoğlu said, adding that they are also happy to see that their efforts to increase the number of tourists will yield results.
ARIKLI: LANDING A WIDE-BODY PLANE WAS A DREAM FOR US
Public Works and Transport Erhan Arıklı emphasized that the opening of the new building and runway of Ercan Airport is a mission and a vision of the TRNC.
Stating that the new airport is the prestige project of the TRNC and that it has been realized, Arıklı said, “However, people, institutions and circles in the society who oppose the TRNC phenomenon, who cannot digest the TRNC, who do not want the TRNC to write a success story, have said things and made allegations about the airport since the day it was opened in order to discredit Ercan Airport.”.
Arıklı stated that there are definitely some deficiencies in every newly opened airport and that despite this, the smallest deficiency and setback is exaggerated and made headlines on social media and in the press.
Explaining that a member of the parliament yesterday asked sarcastically, “What about the wide-body airplanes?”, Arıklı said that he responded by saying, “Let's welcome the wide-body airplanes together”.
“Stating that it was a dream for us to land a wide-body plane, Arıklı said that the increase in the number of airplanes and airline companies is important and that everyone complained about the high ticket prices. Minister Arıklı pointed out that the way to prevent this is to create a competitive environment with the increase in the number of aircraft and aircraft companies.
Stating that another company has started scheduled flights to TRNC, Arıklı expressed his hope that ticket prices will decrease a little more in this competitive environment. Finally, Arıklı thanked the executives of THY for their contributions.
SENOL DOUBLING OUR PASSENGER NUMBERS WITH WIDE-BODY AIRCRAFT
Erol Şenol, THY's Vice President for Middle East and Cyprus, said, “This is a very precious day for me” and noted that he was traveling with the A-350 wide-body aircraft that arrived today.
Stating that THY has increased its capacity in TRNC, Şenol said that they have doubled the number of passengers with wide-body aircraft. Stating that they will also increase the number of flights as Anadolu Jet, Şenol said that they are working to support tourism and for the people of Cyprus to receive better service at more accessible prices.
Stating that they will increase cultural tours from Turkey to the TRNC, Şenol emphasized that they will put their hands under the stone for the development of civil aviation in the TRNC.
