The pandemic of the new corona virus has significantly changed the plans of millions holidaymakers all around the globe. Košice Airport is not an exception. Since mid March it has already lost more than 200 000 passengers on both charter and scheduled flights. In comparison the summer season of 2019 was the best in the airport´s history – over 182 000 charter passengers passed the gates of the airport between April – October, flying to 14 seaside destinations in 9 countries. 

Summer season of 2020 at Košice Airport was opened on 28th July with flight to Larnaca on southern Cyprus. At the moment Larnaca is the only summer destination available with departure from Košice on a charter flight. Flights to Larnaca will be operated by a Slovak airline Air Explore every Tuesday with their Boeing 737-800 with capacity of 189 seats. The first flight landed in Košice on the 28th July at 14:20 and it departed at 15:20 with 176 passengers on board. 

Michael Tmej, CEO and chairman of the management board of Košice Airport said: „Considering how dramatic the situation looked like 2-3 months ago we are glad that at least Cyprus is available for our passengers who want to enjoy a sun break. We believe it is not the last word by Slovak tour operators and we do hope there will be some more holiday destinations offered with departure from Košice soon.“ 

In total 9 flights to Larnaca are planned for this summer, with the last one expected to depart from Košice on Tuesday 22nd September. More information about holiday packages is available at the tour operator’s offices.

Important information: all travelers heading to Cyprus from Slovakia are required to fill in an electronic form 24 hours before departure. The form´s title is Cyprus flight pass and it is available here: https://cyprusflightpass.gov.cy/. There is a risk of 300 € fine for those who won´t fill in this form or they might not be allowed to enter the republic of Cyprus. 

The rules for wearing the facemasks at all times onboard are valid for all airlines. Same rules apply for passengers inside the terminal building. Košice Airport recommends to check the detailed rules and recommendations of a particular airline before the flight on the airline´s website and also on the website of Košice Airport. 

Photo: R.Mlýnek