There is only one airport in use in North Cyprus and this is Ercan Airport, located on the outskirts of Lefkoşa.  There is one other airport called Geçitkale which is located near to Ercan, but this has not been in use for passenger flights since 2004.

Ercan serves North Cyprus with flights to most major European destinations, but due to embargoes and restrictions, flights to and from Ercan can only legally fly via Turkey.  Flights are frequent and at the time of writing the main carriers only appear to be, Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines.  AtlasJet and Onur Air will apparently be starting flights in 2012, but on researching they are not quite there yet.  Cyprus Turkish Airlines, the state airline stopped flying in recent years and despite numerous attempts to reinstate the airline, nothing has come to fruition yet, which is real shame indeed.

Currently handling around 2 million passengers a year, Ercan has a 2.5 kilometer-long landing field and an apron with a capacity for seven aircrafts, which at present is not suitable for larger aircraft.  Plans are afoot as of 2009 to privatise Ercan, which will increase investment to incorporate additional landing space and terminal buildings to allow for an increase in traffic. Havaş, a Turkish company provides ground services.

Ercan airport is a modern facility nowadays with shops, cafes, viewing gallery, modern technology security checks and scanners and is able to accommodate offices for car rental companies and airline ticket sales.  Car parking is no longer free as of 2008, with a scaled pricing structure depending on the duration you leave your car, with prices starting at 15ytl for the first 24 hours.

You can book tickets to fly from the UK to North Cyprus with most of the major travel agencies here in North Cyprus, and the agencies can often offer better prices than if you book the same flight in the UK.  You can also purchase tickets online via the airlines’ websites, and it’s worth keeping a look out for cheap deals at certain times of the year.

Please visit our Tourism section for more articles on flights to North Cyprus, as well airline information, and options for arriving via south Cyprus.

North Cyprus’s road network is improving with time, and most routes in-between the major cities and towns are modern with regard to road surfacing and lighting.  However, you may find that within towns themselves, the roads need regular maintenance work, and with the upgrading of other utilities such as telephone, electric and water going on at the same time, it can sometimes lead to the uprooting of roads!

More upgrading is being done in North Cyprus all the time, specifically in the Kyrenia area where you may come across the fairly new bypass, which runs parallel to the existing road leading from Kyrenia to Alsancak.  Additionally there is work taking place to improve the major road from Tatlisu on the east coast, but again work has been slow to progress so it’s anyones guess as to when it will be completed.

Public transport facilities come in the form of the dolmuş (pronounced dolmush), and buses, which are a network of mini vans taking passengers to and from major towns and cities.  You can pick them up anywhere along the main roads, but these may not get you everywhere you want to go.

There is an up to date taxi network in North Cyprus as an alternative, with companies operating fleets of modern vehicles, you can pick these up at taxi ranks or by booking via your hotel, or sometimes by flagging them down on the road.  All taxis are metered and often have set fares for airport transfers for example.

North Cyprus also has a passenger and car ferry boat service that departs from Kyrenia and travels to one or two destinations in Turkey, dependent on the time of year.

Ercan is a small but modern airport serving passengers travelling to and from North Cyprus via Turkey, and is the central hub for air cargo transportation as well.  Major airlines such as Turkish Airlines, Cyprus Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and Atlasjet all fly via Ercan.

It is also worth mentioning that there is disabled access in some of the major hotels and holiday villages, but unfortunately you will find that many hotels do not offer such facilities and that getting around can be difficult for the less physically able in Northern Cyprus.  However, there is a company based in the North which can help provide mobility products during your stay should you require them.

For more detailed information on each mode of transportation available, please click on any of the related tags below for further articles.