Larnaca Airport experienced significant overcrowding on Monday morning, with passengers reporting long queues and delays, particularly at passport control, airport officials and travellers said.
The congestion, which has become increasingly common in recent weeks, prompted complaints from frustrated passengers who shared images of the crowded departure hall with Phileleftheros.
DISY MP Prodromos Alambritis raised the issue in Parliament last Thursday. “These conditions, apart from the inconvenience they cause to passengers, do not correspond to the image we want to project to tourists who visit our country,” Alambritis said in a statement.
Hermes Airports, the airport’s managing company, attributed Monday’s issues to a high volume of flights from non-EU countries, which require additional passenger checks. A spokesperson told Philelftheros that most complaints centred on delays in baggage and passport control, areas managed by police rather than the airport operator.
The company stated that an electronic system monitoring passenger flow indicates that security and passport control times generally remain within agreed limits, though passport control occasionally exceeds the 15-minute target, reaching up to 25 minutes per passenger.
Hermes Airports confirmed ongoing discussions with the Immigration Department and the Ministry of Transport to streamline processes and reduce delays.
