Cyprus says unaffected by ban on Boeing 737 MAX operations

NICOSIA, March 13 (Xinhua) -- Cyprus is unlikely to be affected by the suspension of all Boeing 737 MAX operations imposed by Europe, a Civil Aviation Department official said on Wednesday.

Cyprus actually followed the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in imposing a ban on over-flights of Boeing 737 MAX, which was announced after the crash of an Ethiopian airlines plane of this type on Sunday.

EASA also published a safety directive suspending all commercial flights performed by third-country operators into, within or out of the EU of the Boeing 737 MAX models.

Cyprus announced that it suspended flight operations of all Boeing Model 737-8 Max and 737-9 Max airplanes inside its airspace on Tuesday night, complying with the EU-wide suspension.

Andreas Paspalides, head of the Safety Regulation Unit at Civil Aviation, said the suspension will be in force until further notice.

Cyprus lies in the eastern region of the Mediterranean and is the most southeastern part of Europe.

Having under its control a Flight Information Region extending from the southern shores of Turkey to the Egyptian-Israeli border to the southeast, it virtually controls the flights all planes entering the Mediterranean from the east en route to any part of Europe.

Paspallides allayed fears of tourist operators that the suspension may affect tourism, the main source of income for Cyprus, as the new season begins in just over two weeks.

"No negative impact on Cyprus is expected by the suspension of flights and over-flights of Boeing MAX aircraft", he said.

He also added that no such airplanes are included in the Cypriot register.