Cyprus sees second-largest commercial flight decline in Europe

Cyprus among only eight EU states to see flights decrease in AugustCyprus recorded the second-largest annual decline in commercial flights in the EU in August, even as flight activity across the bloc continued to expand and the island’s tourism downturn showed further signs of easing. According to Eurostat, the number of commercial flights in Cyprus fell by 3 per cent in August compared with the same month in 2025, with only Austria recording a larger decline. The figures came as Cyprus continued to record fewer tourist arrivals than in the record year of 2025, although the shortfall has narrowed steadily through the summer. Cyprus among EU flight declines There were 708,980 commercial flights across the EU in August, representing an increase of 2.3 per cent compared with August 2025 and 5.7 per cent compared with August 2024. Cyprus was among just eight EU member states where commercial flight numbers declined during the month, with the island’s 3 per cent fall exceeded only by Austria’s 4.7 per cent decline. Germany recorded the third-largest decline at 2.4 per cent, Eurostat reported. The largest annual increases were recorded in Slovakia, where commercial flights rose by 37 per cent, followed by Malta at 12.4 per cent and Estonia at 8.3 per cent. Overall, the EU recorded more than 2 million commercial flights between June and August, according to Eurostat. July was the busiest of the three summer months, with 709,931 flights, up 2.8 per cent from July 2025 and 5.7 per cent compared with July 2024. June recorded 662,480 commercial flights, an increase of 2.1 per cent from the same month of 2025 and 4.9 per cent compared with June 2024. Tourism downturn continues to ease The flight figures come as Cyprus’ tourism sector continues to recover from a weaker start to the year, although arrivals remain below last year’s record levels. The Cyprus Statistical Service (Cystat) reported that 581,880 tourists arrived in Cyprus in August, down 3.3 per cent from 602,026 in August 2025. Despite the annual decline, August arrivals were 4.9 per cent higher than the 554,923 recorded in August 2024. Between January and August, tourist arrivals reached 2,820,649, down 7 per cent from 3,034,155 during the corresponding period of 2025. That represented 213,506 fewer arrivals than during the first eight months of last year. The decline has nevertheless been narrowing as the summer progressed, falling from 10.1 per cent at the end of June to 8 per cent at the end of July and 7 per cent after August. Tourism Deputy Minister Kostas Koumis had said before the August figures were released that the annual decline was expected to ease further, with arrivals forecast to finish the year around 5 per cent below 2025 levels. Israel offsets weaker major markets The August tourism figures showed a substantial divergence between Cyprus’ major source markets. The United Kingdom remained the island’s largest tourism market, accounting for 30.5 per cent of August arrivals with 177,603 visitors. British arrivals were 8 per cent lower than the 193,091 recorded in August 2025 and 7.7 per cent below the 192,424 recorded in August 2024. Israel, however, continued to record strong growth and helped cushion the wider decline. Israeli arrivals reached 135,628 in August, an increase of 28.4 per cent from 105,597 a year earlier and 83.2 per cent above the 74,032 recorded in August 2024. Israel therefore accounted for 23.3 per cent of all tourist arrivals during the month and supplied more than 30,000 additional visitors compared with August 2025. Other major markets also weakened, including Poland and Germany, while France recorded a particularly sharp decline. French arrivals almost halved to 8,453, down 46 per cent from 15,663 in August 2025 and almost 50 per cent below the 16,798 recorded in August 2024. Airport traffic remains below last year The latest Eurostat figures also come against a backdrop of softer airport traffic in Cyprus, although the summer performance has been stronger than earlier in the year. Larnaca and Paphos airports handled 1.77 million passengers in August, their strongest monthly total of 2026, but traffic remained 1.5 per cent below August 2025. During the first eight months of the year, the two airports handled 8.82 million passengers, down 3.3 per cent from 2025 but 7.9 per cent above the corresponding period of 2024. The airport figures had previously shown the gap narrowing during the summer, after regional instability and disruption to air travel had weighed more heavily on the sector during March and April. Hermes Airports had forecast that total passenger traffic for 2026 could finish between 3 per cent and 5 per cent below 2025, provided geopolitical conditions remained favourable. The combination of fewer commercial flights and weaker tourist arrivals in August therefore contrasts with the broader recovery visible in Cyprus’ tourism figures, where the annual shortfall has continued to narrow as the peak summer season progressed.