Customise Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorised as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site.... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyse the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customised advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyse the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Facebook
Share

A cross-party group of influential politicians have urged Lord Cameron to end the UK’s punitive and unfair ban on direct flights to Northern Cyprus.

Last week, the parliamentarians wrote to Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, raising serious concerns over the treatment of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and calling for “the commencement of direct flights from the United Kingdom to Ercan International Airport – the largest airport on the island of Cyprus”.

They want the Foreign Secretary to end “one of the most restrictive policies of any country in Europe when it comes to air travel to Ercan”.

The move by more than fifty parliamentarians and politicians, including former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, highlights the hypocrisy of the UK’s current position. They point to the UK allowing flights to non-UN member states such as Kosovo, and to countries that it doesn’t recognise such as Taiwan. The question is “why not to Northern Cyprus?”

Air travel to the TRNC is not a risk and there is no history of poor safety. Indeed, Ercan Airport abides by international aviation security standards, and safely hosts hundreds of thousands of passengers each year.

They warn that if the UK continues to fail to engage with the TRNC, it will “risk letting countries such as Russia and Iran do so instead – fundamentally challenging the UK’s strategic foothold in the eastern Mediterranean.”

This call for action from the 300,000 strong Turkish Cypriot diaspora comes as a new general election has been announced. Turkish Cypriots, their friends and families, will
also be putting pressure on both the Government and other major parties to commit to ending this unjust situation.

Chet Ramadan, founder of Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus, said: “It is time that the UK ends their regressive ban on flights to the TRNC. This is something that was promised 20 years ago and has yet to be fulfilled.

“300,000 Turkish Cypriots live in the UK, and 15,000 British expats live in Northern Cyprus. The onerous and unnecessary flight rules only create a cruel burden for those wishing to visit family members or go on holiday.

“UK parties must commit to allowing direct flights to restart and we will repeat this call to whoever forms the next government.”

Tags