The assessment that the coronavirus will not pass through the airports of Cyprus as much as possible, was expressed today by the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works Giannis Karousos, adding that in this way passenger traffic and tourism increase.
In statements after his surprise visit to Larnaca airport with the Minister of Justice and Public Order Emily Giolitis, Giannis Karousos said that the purpose of the visit was to determine whether "the protocols work, if the instructions are followed. We want to send the message that the controls will continue and will be more intensive. "From tomorrow, August 1, we expect increased passenger traffic, especially from the United Kingdom, as 66 flights a week have already been scheduled from this country," he said, adding that "increased passenger traffic will be expected week by week".
Mr. Karousos expressed satisfaction for what he saw today at Larnaca airport and noted that "there are definitely areas and procedures that need improvement and we see the problems and solve them. Cyprus and the way its airports operate after the coronavirus are an excellent example and countries from the European Union and from all over the world contact us asking to learn details about how the specific procedures have been created for the Cyprus flight pass and other details ”.
We must make sure, "the Minister continued," that we are reducing the risk that the coronavirus, as far as possible, will not pass through the airports of Cyprus and is essentially the basis for us to be able to increase passenger traffic and tourism. "
Asked to point out the weaknesses he identified and the procedures that need improvement, he explained that "these are various issues such as queues formed in the passport control, but for which a solution has been found. There were also some issues with the Cyprus flight pass that we were informed about by the airport services and were resolved, while several existing problems were resolved in today's meeting held with the Minister of Health ".
Regarding the sampling checks that will be carried out at the airports, the Minister of Transport said that “from tomorrow they increase to one thousand per day, while any passenger who wishes to do the analysis himself upon arrival in Cyprus, has the right to do so and pay for it . For us, it is a service that we have to offer to the passengers, while in this way the number of laboratory tests increases and a solution has been given for the procedure that will be followed for the specific issue ".
Asked if he was concerned about the fact that Britain has been upgraded to a category but the coronavirus still exists, he said: "The Action Plan we are implementing is based on the epidemiological data of each country which are evaluated on a weekly basis by experts. If they classify a country in category B, it means that it meets the criteria to be included in that category ".
In case, he continued that the epidemiological data “continue to improve then this country is upgraded to category A or degraded accordingly. We continue to operate the protocol and the Action Plan in the same way and the only thing that changes is the categorization of countries "he said and noted that" the more countries are classified in category B and A, the more passengers we will have and the tourist flow to Cyprus ”.
The Minister of Transport also said that “we have already announced the creation of a call center that serves and answers both in English and in Greek and by phone and e-mail. We have also received hundreds of phone calls from people from the United Kingdom who want to visit Cyprus for tourism and ask to be informed whether the laboratory test carried out by the National Health System of the country is recognized ".
He added that "today with the Minister of Health we decided that this laboratory test will be recognized and so people who have done this analysis within 72 hours before departure, will be able to travel with this certificate."
For her part, the Minister of Justice stated that "the picture we saw inside Larnaca airport is generally satisfactory" and noted that her visit was made to send "the message of zero tolerance by the Police in non-compliance with the Ordinances".
He added that "some very small problems have been identified which we will solve, but in general the picture today was satisfactory. We will not be complacent, we will continue the inspections to make sure that the image will remain satisfactory ".
Asked whether the problems that have been identified affect the Police at Larnaca airport or the procedure that is followed, Ms. Giolitis replied that "the security forces can certainly be helpful in keeping more distances inside the airport. However, in terms of compliance with the measures, the use of the mask and the non-entry of non-passenger passengers inside the airport, the tolerance will be zero ".