NICOSIA – Cyprus is back with tourists during the waning COVID-19 pandemic, so much so now that low-cost airline Wizz Air is adding two more aircraft to its base in Larnaca and Ryanair will add five routes from Paphos in the summer of 2023 and double its fleet to four planes.

Wizz Air said it will add two new Airbus A321neo aircraft to also give it four planes and have 32 routes from its base, including three which are new and increase the frequency of flights because of the demand, said In-Cyprus.

Passengers will now be able to fly to Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, Wizz Air is increasing the frequency of its flights from the base to Athens, London Luton, Prague, Tel Aviv, Thessaloniki and Yerevan.

“We are delighted to be expanding in Cyprus, demonstrating our commitment to growing our presence in the market by doubling the number of aircraft we will operate from the country,” Wizz Air President Robert Carey said.

“The allocation of these two additional aircraft in Larnaca allows us to further strengthen our market offer, providing our Cypriot customers the opportunity to travel on a total of 32 routes to 18 countries with us and increase the tourism to the island of love as well, connecting Cyprus with so many destinations,”  he added.

Eleni Kalogirou, CEO of Hermes Airports, which operates the facilities on Cyprus, said that, “Adding two more aircraft by Wizz Air to its based fleet at Larnaka Airport is a positive development. It signals the airline’s commitment to Cyprus as an important tourism destination for its European network. We will continue working with Wizz Air to enhance their presence in Cyprus further.”

Ryanair, reported The Cyprus Mail, said that it has invested an additional 400 million euros ($414) aimed at creating 120 new aviation jobs and 1,500 other jobs at Paphos airport, which is getting busier.

The new destinations available from Paphos with two flights per week will be Athens, Bordeaux, Naples, Poznan and Toulouse. The airline also announced increased frequencies of flights to Chania, Kaunas, Krakow, Mykonos, Rhodes, Tel Aviv and Vienna.

Ryanair, the company said in a statement, will offer a special seat sale with fares available from 29.99 euros ($31) for one way for travel between April and October 2023, which had to be booked by midnight of Nov. 23.

“Ryanair is delighted to launch our biggest ever summer schedule in Cyprus for summer 2023, with over 260 weekly flights across 41 routes, including five new summer routes,” Commercial Activities Director Jason McGuinness said.

Kalogirou said that, “The addition of a fourth aircraft makes the presence of Ryanair in Cyprus stronger and we are confident that the new routes announced as well as the existing programme will have a significant contribution to the recovery and growth of Paphos airports, the tourism industry and the economy of our country.”