Tatar: ‘500-seat’ planes will start flying to TRNC when new Ercan terminal opens
PRESIDENT Ersin Tatar appeared on Kıbrıs TV’s flagship political programme “Her Şey Masada” (Everything is on the Table) to be grilled by its presenter Halil Esendağlı on a variety of issues, including tourism and municipal reforms.
On the issue of tourism, Mr Tatar said that the completion of the new Ercan airport terminal will allow wide-body aircraft to land at the airport, and that this could lead to a new wave of tourists visiting North Cyprus.
“We just need to open the airport,” he said. “On the day we open the airport, the potential number of extra tourists that can come to the country will be more than 500,000, because instead of 300-seat aircraft, they will send 500-seat wide-body aircraft.”
Mr Tatar then moved onto the issue of municipal reforms, stating that 28 municipalities in a country this size is “too high” while hinting at “different options” for reform.
He went on to say that the issue “has been on the agenda for a long time” and that Turkey, the UK, and the European Union have all been involved at different stages of the process.
Mr Tatar then lamented the watered-down nature of the reforms, saying: “Maybe this is utopian, but six municipalities are enough for this country.” He said that the initial plan had been to reduce the number of municipalities from 28 to 12 but “then it was 13, then 14, and the last draft had 18”.
He added that people object to the current plan of 18 municipalities, but that he believed a consensus has now been reached in Parliament and that there is now “no point in opposing it”.