BA launches daily flights from Gatwick to Paphos
British Airways yesterday announced an expansion of its Cyprus operation with new mainline flights to London Gatwick from Paphos from July 1, throughout the year.
The flights will operate daily and this means Paphos becomes British Airways’ second destination in Cyprus. The airline currently operates daily flights between Larnaca and London Heathrow and recently celebrated its 75th Anniversary of operations in the country.
Commenting, Marianna Trokoudes, British Airways Country Commercial Manager said: “The opening of our full service mainline flights between Paphos and London Gatwick demonstrates our ongoing commitment to the Cyprus market. In combination with our existing flights from Larnaca, our Paphos services offer tremendous flexibility and convenience for Cypriots traveling to the UK, or onward to our list of fantastic worldwide destinations”
She added, that, “ Paphos is also very popular with UK travelers, and the growing economic importance of the town and region are just a few of the reasons why we feel this service will be very well received in Cyprus and in the UK.”
Speaking after the announcement, Pantelis Ionanides of the Cyprus Tourism Organization said: “We consider this news as a positive development for Paphos tourism and for Cyprus tourism in general. We believe that these flights will enhance our efforts to attract additional tourists from our biggest market, which is the UK.
Ioannides added that the CTO “works hard to increase the number of airline seats to Cyprus by attracting new carriers and encouraging existing carriers to expand their programmes”.
Bob Manning, CTO of Hermes Airports Ltd commented: “We are delighted at today’s route announcement. This new daily British Airways service between Gatwick and Paphos will be warmly welcomed by leisure and business travelers alike, as well as the UK and Cyprus travel trade. We look forward to working with British Airways team to further develop the long-standing BA product in Cyprus”.
BA’s expansion comes hot on the heels of easy Jet announcing on the New Year’s Day that they will be operating flights from Gatwick and Manchester to Paphos after March 31, as part of its takeover of GB Airways.
London Gatwick serves some 200 international destinations. It has been voted seven times by business travelers as the ‘Best Airport in the UK”.
From the airport, British Airways serves a number of destinations operating over 170 flights per week, while the airport handles more than 30 million passengers each year.
The airport complex incorporated a main line railway station, serving the centre of London, the south coast, and links to railway lines throughout the country.
For full details of all BA services and products, visit www.ba.com
Source: Cyprus Mail , 04/01/07 |
