Description & Facts: Located 2.5miles (4km) south of the city, Larnaca International Airport (LCA) is Cyprus’ main international gateway and the larger of the island’s three commercial airports, the others being at Paphos on the south western coast and Ercan in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. LCA was hastily constructed after the invasion of Turkish armed forces on July 20, 1974, which forced the closure of Nicosia International Airport and partitioned the country into two regions.

LCA opened for business on February 8, 1975, with limited facilities that consisted of pre-fabricated buildings with separate departures and arrivals halls. A new terminal featuring 67 check-in desks, 16 boarding bridges, departures and arrivals situated on different levels and parking for 2,650 vehicles was opened on November 11, 2009. The new terminal has trebled capacity to 7.5 million passengers a year. A second phase scheduled for completion in 2013, provides an extension to the new terminal increasing capacity to 9 million passengers annually. There will also be a 1,600ft (500m) increase to the main runway’s length.

Today, LCA is a hub between Europe and the Middle East and it gets especially busy during the summer months. It is home to the main Cypriot airline, Cyprus Airways, which bases its fleet of eleven Airbus A319s, A320s and A330s here as well as the five Boeing 737-800s of its charter subsidiary, Eurocypria Airlines. Also based here are the Britten-Norman BN-2TM Turbine Islander and a pair of Bell 412s of the Cyprus Police Air Wing. More then 40 international carriers operate flights to LCA, among them British Airways, Lufthansa, easyJet, Emirates and EgyptAir. Cyprus handles a lot of CIS traffic, with a variety of Russian aircraft proving photogenic, if you are in the right place. Mornings can be rather slow, with most CIS traffic arriving in late afternoon or after dark.

Read more about Spotting at Larnaca International Airport!

Hotels in the vicinity:

If you're traveling to Cyprus, these are the hotels we recommend:
- Golden Bay Beach Hotel
- Lordos Beach Hotel
- Palm Beach Hotel & Bungalows
- Eleonora Hotel Apartments