Ercan International Airport

Ercan Airport

*Ercan Havalimanı*
*Αεροδρόμιο Ερτζάν Λευκωσίας/Τύμβου*
Ercan Airport; Ercan Havalimanı ; Αεροδρόμιο Ερτζάν Λευκωσίας/Τύμβου
	IATA: ECN; ICAO: LCEN;
Summary
Airport type	Private
Owner	T&T Ercan Airport
Operator	T&T Ercan Airport
Serves	Northern Cyprus
Location	Kırklar
Elevation AMSL	403 ft / 123 m
Coordinates	35°09′35″N 33°30′00″E / 35.15972°N 33.50000°ECoordinates: 35°09′35″N 33°30′00″E / 35.15972°N 33.50000°E
Website	www.ercanhavalimani.aero
Map
	ECN/LCEN Show map of CyprusShow map of EuropeShow all
Runways
Statistics (2018)
Yearly Passengers
Yearly Passengers	4,000,000
Monthly Aircraft	1646

Ercan International Airport (Turkish: Ercan Uluslararası Havalimanı pronounced [æɾˈdʒan uɫusɫaɾaɾaˈsɯ havalimaˈnɯ]) (IATA: ECN, ICAO: LCEN)^[1] is the primary civilian airport of Northern Cyprus, a country solely recognised by Turkey. It is located about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) east of North Nicosia, near the village of Tymbou.

Flights to the airport are banned internationally.^[4] Non-stop flights only take place from Turkey, and all planes that fly to Northern Cyprus from other countries have to stop over in Turkey.^[5] Because of these difficulties and inconveniences, the majority of Turkish Cypriots with Republic of Cyprus passports prefer to use Larnaca International Airport, which is located in the territory under the de facto control of the internationally recognised government of the Republic of Cyprus; this option is not available, however, to travellers from Turkey.^[6]^[7]

History[]

Check-in area

The precursor of Ercan Airport, Tymvou Airport, was constructed by the British in World War II as a military airport, during their colonial rule of the island. Following the Turkish Invasion of Cyprus and the partition of the island it was occupied by the Turkish army, and today it is used as the main civilian airport of Northern Cyprus.

Since 2006, the rule which stipulates that flights are required to touch down at a Turkish airport before continuing to and from Ercan has been under discussion. In 2006, the Turkish government began discussions for Northern Cyprus's main port Famagusta, and main civilian airport Ercan, to be able to operate direct connections, with the UK government describing it as a "significant and creative offer".^[8]

However, as of 2017, the rule still applies, and Ercan airport has seen a more than 400% decrease in customers,^[6] as a result of new tight security measures imposed by the UK Department for Transport questioning the status of the airport and forcing passengers travelling between Britain and Northern Cyprus to disembark with their luggage and go through a fresh security check in Turkey in order to board a new aircraft for their final destination.^[6]

Recent plans have arisen to privatise Ercan Airport, as well as plans to enlarge the airport in order to increase capacity. Ercan Airport currently has a 2.75 kilometre-long runway and an apron with a capacity of seven aircraft. Although the runway is long enough for large planes to land, it is not long enough for take-offs. The plan has been for the construction of a new runway of 3200m and extension of the existing runway to 3200m, apron and terminal building and with the planned new apron more than doubling the current plane capacity.^[9] As of 2021, the new terminal is currently under construction. It will be much larger than the existing and have 9 airbridges.^[10]

The New Terminal is due to open on 15/11/2021. It will be fully compliant with international standards and will be able to handle direct flights in the future.^[11]^[12]

Airlines and destinations[]

Due to the disputed international status of Northern Cyprus there are no non-stop scheduled flights between Ercan and destinations outside of Turkey. However, several airlines operate direct flights from Ercan to Europe with intermediate stops in Turkey.^[4]^[5]

Airlines	Destinations
AnadoluJet^[13]	Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Izmir
Pegasus Airlines	Adana, Ankara, Antalya, Gaziantep, Hatay, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Izmir
SunExpress^[14]	Izmir
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul

Statistics[]

See source Wikidata query and sources.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "LCEN" in widespread use, including by the ICAO (e.g. here Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine) and FAA (e.g. here Archived 27 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine), however the code does not appear in an official ICAO List Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine^{[failed verification]}.
^ "Ercan Havalimanı yolcu sayısı 4 milyonu aştı". www.airnewstimes.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
^ AB Haber News Site (link to the news article)
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Students Flock to Universities in Northern Cyprus". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Europe diary: Island isolation". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Larnaca Airport bookings soar at expense of Ercan following UK air embargo – T-VINE". Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
^ "Larnaka, İstanbul'a bile Ercan'dan ucuzken". Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.
^ "Turkey "will open up to Cyprus"". BBC News. 7 December 2006. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2009.
^ "Northern Cyprus airport for sale". Hurriyet. 27 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2008.
^ https://northcyprusinternational.com/north-cyprus-international-ercan-airport/
^ https://www.lgcnews.com/opening-new-ercan-terminal-slated-for-15-november/
^ http://talatkursat.com/new-ercan-airport-will-take-direct-flights-from-europe/
^ "Flight network". anadolujet.com.
^ Liu, Jim. "SunExpress S20 new routes as of 23DEC19". Routesonline. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.

External links[]

Media related to Ercan International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

Airport information for LCEN at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
Airport information for LCEN at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
Current weather for LCEN at NOAA/NWS
Accident history for ECN at Aviation Safety Network

[codes-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "LCEN" in widespread use, including by the ICAO (e.g. here Archived 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine) and FAA (e.g. here Archived 27 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine), however the code does not appear in an official ICAO List Archived 26 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine^{[failed verification]}.

[statistics-2] "Ercan Havalimanı yolcu sayısı 4 milyonu aştı". www.airnewstimes.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.

[abhaber-3] AB Haber News Site (link to the news article)

[auto1-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Students Flock to Universities in Northern Cyprus". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

[auto-5] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Europe diary: Island isolation". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

[tvine-6] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "Larnaca Airport bookings soar at expense of Ercan following UK air embargo – T-VINE". Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.

[7] "Larnaka, İstanbul'a bile Ercan'dan ucuzken". Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2018.

[bbc1-8] "Turkey "will open up to Cyprus"". BBC News. 7 December 2006. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2009.

[hurriyet1-9] "Northern Cyprus airport for sale". Hurriyet. 27 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2008.

[10] ttps://northcyprusinternational.com/north-cyprus-international-ercan-airport/

[11] ttps://www.lgcnews.com/opening-new-ercan-terminal-slated-for-15-november/

[12] ttp://talatkursat.com/new-ercan-airport-will-take-direct-flights-from-europe/

[13] "Flight network". anadolujet.com.

[14] Liu, Jim. "SunExpress S20 new routes as of 23DEC19". Routesonline. Archived from the original on 24 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.

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show v t List of airports in Northern Cyprus
Civilian	Ercan International Airport
Military	Geçitkale Air Base

show v t Airports in Cyprus
Civilian	Ercan¹ Larnaca Paphos
Military	RAF Akrotiri Geçitkale Air Base¹ ¹
Defunct	Nicosia RAF Nicosia
¹ is located in Northern Cyprus

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