Nicosia International Airport

The airport was closed due to the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus and the subsequent division of the island. It was the scene of heavy fighting between the Cypriot National Guard and Greek forces against the invading Turkish forces. Following the ceasefire agreements, the airport was declared a United Nations Protected Area (UNPA) and was included within the UN Buffer Zone (the 'Green Line') that separates the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus from the Turkish-occupied northern part. Its location within this demilitarized zone makes it politically and logistically impossible to operate as a civilian airport.

The airport site is located entirely within the UN Buffer Zone and serves as the headquarters for the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP). It is a restricted area, not accessible to the public. The terminal building, control tower, and other facilities are derelict and have decayed significantly over the decades, though they are structurally maintained by the UN to prevent collapse. The runways and aprons are used by UN helicopters for patrol, transport, and medical evacuation missions. The site is also frequently used as a neutral venue for inter-communal peace talks and meetings between the leaders of the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.

Nicosia International Airport (correct ICAO: LCNC, former IATA: NIC) was the main international gateway to Cyprus from its initial development until its closure. Originally built as a military airfield (RAF Nicosia) in the 1930s, it played a strategic role for the British Royal Air Force during World War II. After Cyprus gained independence in 1960, it was converted into the island's primary civilian airport and became the hub for the national carrier, Cyprus Airways. A state-of-the-art terminal building was inaugurated in 1968 to accommodate the rapidly growing tourism industry, symbolizing the young republic's prosperity. The airport handled flights from major international carriers like British Airways (then BOAC), Middle East Airlines, and Olympic Airways, connecting Cyprus to Europe and the Middle East. Its sudden closure in 1974 left it frozen in time, with its 1970s-era decor and an abandoned Cyprus Airways aircraft becoming enduring symbols of the conflict and the island's division.

There are no immediate plans or prospects for reopening the airport. Its reopening is entirely contingent on a comprehensive political settlement of the Cyprus problem. The idea of reopening Nicosia Airport under UN or joint administration has been proposed numerous times over the past decades as a major Confidence-Building Measure (CBM) aimed at fostering trust between the two communities. However, all such proposals have failed due to deep-seated political disagreements. Even if a political agreement were reached, the airport would require a complete overhaul and massive investment to rebuild its derelict infrastructure and bring it up to modern international aviation safety and security standards. With both sides having since developed their own modern airports (Larnaca and Paphos in the south, Ercan in the north), the practical necessity for reopening Nicosia has diminished, making it primarily a symbolic issue tied to reunification.