Israeli agency Shin Bet has ordered the suspension of commercial flights from Israel to Paphos, Cyprus, due to unspecified security concerns.
On January 26, 2025, domestic airlines El AL, Arkia and Israir received a directive from Shin Bet prohibiting landings in Paphos, as confirmed by local media outlet inn.co. Flights already scheduled for Paphos will now be redirected to Larnaca.
“The decision to concentrate flights to and from Cyprus at the Larnaca airport is based on various security considerations,” Shin Bet officials said in a statement seen by inn.co.
This change is not expected to significantly impact Israeli travelers to Cyprus, as the volume of flights to Paphos is relatively low compared to those arriving at Larnaca, the largest airport in Cyprus.
“The Republic of Cyprus is aware of the change in scheduling, for security reasons, of Israeli companies from and to Paphos airport. This happened some days ago,” a Cypriot official told Reuters.
Another official indicated that the move was simply a security measure to streamline Israeli flights to one airport, the Reuters report continued.
“We were informed that the Israelis decided they wanted to come and go from one airport, that of Larnaca,” Victor Papadopoulos, Head of the Cypriot President’s Press Office, added.
According to a report from i24News, El AL responded that it would comply with the instructions from the relevant security agencies, while Arkia said that it is following Shin Bet’s directives, but the airline will continue its “activity from Larnaca”.
The ban on flights to Paphos will remain in effect until further notice.
