Ustel promises new airline as Turkish Cypriot election campaign heats up

Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel on Monday promised that if his party the UBP is re-elected at the forthcoming legislative elections, it will resurrect Cyprus Turkish Airlines, which closed in 2010. “I wish to share some important, welcome news with the Turkish Cypriot people. For 16 years, our people have longed for Cyprus Turkish Airlines. We are bringing that longing to an end. Cyprus Turkish Airlines will take to the skies again in 2028,” he told a meeting of the UBP’s party assembly. He said that the new airline will be “a robust, strategic, investment realised through a public-private partnership model”. “Following the new Ercan airport, we are taking another historic step in air transportation. This move will now only reunite our flag carried with the skies, but also foster competition, thereby exerting a significant, stabilising influence on flight ticket prices,” he said. Unal Ustel on Monday He added that the airline will “boost our tourism sector”, “enhance our transportation capabilities”, “make life easier for our people”, and “forge stronger connections between our country and the world”. “We will share the establishment model, roadmap, and all details regarding Cyprus Turkish Airlines with the public on October 12,” he said. Should the new airline be established, it will be the third Turkish Cypriot flag carrier airline to take to the skies, and the second to do so during Ustel’s premiership, with Fly Kibris Airlines, stylised as FlyKHY, having existed for around a year and a half between 2023 and 2024. The airline was a private venture and was a virtual airline, meaning that it outsourced as many possible operational and business functions as it can, but still maintained effective control of its core business. FlyKHY’s aircraft were operated by Turkish airlines Freebird Airlines and Air Anka. The airline disappeared in 2024. Influential late Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash disembarking from a Cyprus Turkish Airlines plane Cyprus Turkish Airlines had operated from 1975 until 2010 Prior to that, Cyprus Turkish Airlines had served as the Turkish Cypriots’ flag carrier airline, operating between 1975 and 2010. Half of the company was owned by Turkish Airlines, and the other half was owned by the Turkish Cypriot authorities. In the airline’s heyday, it flew from Ercan (Tymbou) via Turkey to cities across the United Kingdom and Europe, but it began to face serious financial problems in the late 2000s, with Turkish Airlines divesting its shares in 2005. By 2010, the airline was in US$140 million of debt, and its management attempted to sell it, with Turkish carrier AtlasJet the only bidder, However, on June 21, 2010, it suspended its operations until further notice, before officially going out of business eight days later. A Cyprus Turkish Airlines plane at Ercan (Tymbou) airport With no domestic airline serving the Turkish Cypriot community, Ercan (Tymbou) airport is currently served by four Turkish carriers: Turkish Airlines, Pegasus, Ajet, and SunExpress. The announcement comes with Turkish Cypriot legislative elections on the horizon, with those elections most likely taking place on December 6. CTP’s Incirli makes five promises to Turkish Cypriot electorate While Ustel ended the day speaking about the prospect of a new airline, his main challenger, opposition party CTP leader Sila Usar Incirli unveiled five “promises” to the Turkish Cypriot electorate should her party form the next Turkish Cypriot administration. Those promises are “good and honest governance, fighting corruption”, “combating the high cost of living and a productive economy”, “a social security institution in healthcare and transformation in the education sector”, “less bureaucracy”, and policies to address “the population issue, immigration, and security”. On the first point, she promised to establish an anti-corruption authority and ensure that asset declarations published by officials be audited. Regarding the second, she pledged to devise a “medium-term fiscal programme” which will “make energy costs more predictable, broaden the tax base, increase domestic added value, and expand registered and secure employment”. Sila Usar Incirli unveiling her five promises to the Turkish Cypriot electorate on Monday On the third, she promised better primary healthcare services and facilities, developing a universal health insurance system, and a five-year transition into full-day schooling. Regarding the fourth point, she said various bureaucratic procedures, such as applications for residence permits and driving licences, tax payments, and the accessing of documents, will be simplified and integrated into a digital system where various public institutions “can share data with each other”. On the fifth point, she pledged to complete a “comprehensive census” within 18 months of entering office, limit the authority of the Turkish Cypriot cabinet to naturalise people as citizens of the ‘TRNC’, and “develop crime prevention policies through joint data and risk analysis”. She also stressed that polling available to her party places it well ahead of all others as the election nears, with it appearing likely that the CTP will form the next Turkish Cypriot administration after the election. “The fundamental picture in the results … remains unchanged. The CTP is leading by far, maintaining its strong position to secure a majority in parliament and its lead over all other parties,” she said. She added that “more importantly, we see that the CTP’s support is not limited to a specific segment”, but that instead, “people from different age groups, segments of society, and political leanings are uniting behind the CTP”. “Opinion polls show that society is ready for this,” she said.