Eerie pictures unveil the interior of an abandoned airport that has been deserted for around fifty years, showing the decay of terminals and aircraft. Nicosia International Airport, once a vibrant entryway to Cyprus, now stands desolate, a haunting reminder of a destructive conflict that tore the island apart. Originally established in the 1930s as an RAF base, the airport evolved into the primary civilian air hub of the island.
Following a Turkish invasion in 1974, the airport transformed into a battleground, enduring severe bombings and damage during the intense clashes. Despite a subsequent ceasefire, the airport was designated a United Nations Protected Area, with its surroundings incorporated into the island’s buffer zone.
Although a few commercial flights continued for a brief period, the airport never truly regained its former glory. Left virtually untouched since then, it remains frozen in a time of war. Inside the terminal today, dusty rows of chairs remain where passengers once waited, while worn-out advertisement boards on the walls tout exotic vacations. The only sounds now heard are the cooing of pigeons, as nature slowly reclaims the once-thriving hub.
On the runway, a dismantled Hawker Siddeley Trident stands, its engine parts riddled with bullets and long stripped. Despite the discontinuation of regular passenger flights, the airport still retains significance as the headquarters for the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP), with some parts of the site still used by helicopters.
However, public access is severely restricted due to safety considerations and decades of neglect, limiting the number of individuals who have seen the abandoned premises. Although discussions were held by the UN in the 1990s and later to potentially reopen the airport, political disputes prevented any concrete agreement from materializing.
Aleem Siddique, the spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus, expressed the airport’s stagnation, stating that various attempts to restore and reopen the airport were unsuccessful due to the inability of the involved parties to reach an agreement. As a result, the airport’s condition has deteriorated over time, with no planes departing or arriving since 1974.
A digital project by the Cyprus Institute, the “NIC Platform,” now allows the public to virtually tour the airport, exploring preserved offices, duty-free areas, and jetways in intricate detail. While access to the site is limited, a local resident, who was granted special permission to enter, shared his emotional experience, describing the eerie, nostalgic feeling of being inside the frozen airport that holds memories of a bygone era.