Flight prices rocket due to ‘lack of competition’

A NEW national carrier should be set up to provide “shuttle” services between North Cyprus and Turkey to keep air fares competitive, tourism officials have urged.

They say a “lack of competition” for flights to and from Ercan airport and a “double whammy” of airport taxes and charges due to enforced stop-overs in Turkey mean the cost of tickets is “rocketing”.

They also warned that fresh moves by the Greek Cypriot authorities to discourage non-EU nationals, such as those from Israel, from using Ercan or holidaying in the TRNC would also damage the economy.

The calls came as the best deals quoted on airlines’ officials websites on Wednesday for a one-week return ticket for one adult from Ercan to London, departing today, were up to 40 per cent more expensive than the cheapest available flight from Larnaca airport in South Cyprus.

The best price available from Turkish Airlines was 1,545TL while an “Eco” Pegasus Airlines ticket to Stansted cost 1,657TL.

The cheapest fare from AtlasGlobal was 1,738TL.

In contrast easyJet was offering a ticket to Gatwick for the equivalent of 1,238TL, while a seat on a Cobalt Airlines flight was available for 1,279TL.

Cyprus Turkish Travel Agents’ Union head Orhan Tolun said politicians needed to act so that a 15 per cent increase in tourist numbers to the TRNC over the last year was not undone.

“Air ticket prices are rocketing because of a lack of competition, the double taxes paid for touchdown in Turkey, the taxes from airports and double airport handling services,” he told Cyprus Today.

“Ercan airport is more expensive than İstanbul Atatürk airport in terms of taxes. On top of this, the airlines wants to make their own profit. Only three airlines are flying to Ercan airport. There is very little competition.

“Politicians should be debating how to deal with this and put forward projects to start up a new national airline. We need this in 2018 desperately.”

The issues were raised last week in a meeting between expats and Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, who expressed his “personal support” for a new national carrier.

Honorary president of the Cyprus Turkish Hoteliers’ Union John Aziz Kent said: “It has taken me 25 years and finally we are hearing officials saying it is a good idea to start shuttle services on a ‘hop-on, hop-off’ basis between Turkish airports and Ercan.

“Expensive air ticket prices can only be tackled adequately through increasing the number of airlines and healthy competition. It will also smash the flights embargo on North Cyprus, because people flying to Ercan would know that they can hop on to another shuttle flight and be in Cyprus from Turkey in an hour without waiting.”

Cyprus Turkish Tourism and Travel Agents’ Association president Erkan Kilim said a new national carrier could be formed on a “partpublic, part-private” basis.

“Last year, 100,000 tourists came to North Cyprus from Israel. But the Greek Cypriot side is now taking effective action to deport non-EU nationals . . .

“How are we going to get such tourists [to fly to the TRNC] with expensive air ticket prices for Ercan?”

Meanwhile Cyprus Turkish Hoteliers’ Union president Fethi Özboğaç, Casino Operators’ Union general secretary Ercan Turhan and Mr Kilim issued a joint statement calling on President Mustafa Akıncı to “search for our rights” against Greek Cypriot moves to prevent TRNC-bound tourists arriving at Larnaca from entering the island.