NICOSIA – With the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror and tourism expected to surge on the island, Cyprus Airways reported encouraging numbers, with a significant increase in passengers for February, a typically quiet month.

According to the company, it carried 19,509 passengers in February, compared to 2,997 in the same month in 2021, before health measures began to be eased and foreign visitors started returning.

The airline operated 231% more flights than the 64 flights it operated in February 2022, while improving its load factor by 20%, The Cyprus Mail reported. “February is traditionally our quietest month, yet compared to last year, we carried five times more passengers,” said Cyprus Airways Chief Executive Paul Sies.

“Month-on-month, we are achieving encouraging results, and we have confirmed our position as the third-largest carrier by market share in Cyprus for January 2023, behind WizzAir and Aegean, which have considerably larger fleets based in Larnaca,” he added.

In February 2019, a year before the coronavirus hit the world, the airline had 15,052 passengers, showing a 30% improvement this year, a likely barometer of a big summer coming.

“This result encourages us to continue working hard to increase our choice of destinations, frequencies, and services to our customers. We are proud to be the island’s flag carrier and a promoter of the island and its growing economy,” he also added about its goals.

At the end of March, Cyprus Airways will begin operations to Dubai and Cairo, locations that are considered international gateways to other destinations, making the island a destination.

“As announced, this May, we will also expand our network to the European hubs of Milan, Zurich, Prague, and Basel with a multiple weekly schedule,” Sies said, noting that in the summer, it will go to Paris and Milan.

The company’s summer schedule includes twice-weekly services to the islands of Santorini and Skiathos and Preveza in Greece and expects to serve Crete and Rhodes three times weekly and also Thessaloniki twice.