Cyprus airports are managing more than 53,000 passengers and 325 flights daily during the current peak July travel period, with Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday emerging as the busiest days.
Data from the “Xovis” smart tracking system deployed by Hermes Airports tracked passenger flows and queue waiting times for the first 24 days of July. The statistics identify passport control at arrivals as the most time-consuming checkpoint for travellers.
Hermes Airports provided the passenger data to philenews using Xovis, an advanced flow-monitoring and management system. The airport operator uses 3D sensors and analytics software to monitor and process passenger traffic in real time. The system anonymously tracks movement at key checkpoints, measuring crowd numbers and wait times at security and passport control to pinpoint where delays occur.
During the July 1–24 period, Larnaca Airport handled an average of 37,000 passengers daily, whilst Paphos Airport averaged 16,000. Daily flights to and from Larnaca Airport averaged 230, compared to 95 at Paphos Airport. Mondays and Saturdays are the peak days for Larnaca Airport, whilst Wednesdays and Saturdays see the highest traffic at Paphos Airport.
Hermes noted that all recorded wait times depend on staffing levels relative to passenger volumes. July queue times across checkpoints at the two Republic of Cyprus airports showed the following results:
Larnaca Airport:
- Departure Passport Control (Emigration): 95 per cent of passengers were processed in under 13 minutes, with a maximum recorded wait time of 23 minutes.
- Security (Body + Luggage Scan): 95 per cent of passengers were cleared in under 3 minutes, with a maximum wait time of 11 minutes.
- Arrival Passport Control (Immigration): 95 per cent of passengers were processed in under 19 minutes. The maximum wait time reached 45 minutes, with 1,296 passengers—representing less than 0.2 per cent of the total—waiting between 30 and 45 minutes.
Paphos Airport:
- Departure Passport Control (Emigration): 95 per cent of passengers were processed in under 9 minutes, with a maximum wait time of 17 minutes.
- Security (Body + Luggage Scan): 95 per cent of passengers were cleared in under 4 minutes, with a maximum wait time of 13 minutes.
- Arrival Passport Control (Immigration): 95 per cent of passengers were processed in under 10 minutes, with a maximum wait time of 27 minutes.
