Eerie images show what Nicosia International Airport, located in Cyprus, looks like after being completely empty for over 50 years. The facility closed down after an unsuccessful Greek-inspired coup attempt in 1974
Europe bustles with busy airports, transporting billions of passengers to countless destinations each year. Last year’s statistics reveal that more than 2.5 billion travellers took flight across the continent, exceeding pre-pandemic figures.
Among Europe’s most hectic hubs are London Heathrow, Frankfurt and Charles de Gaulle in Paris. However, one international airport hasn’t welcomed a single passenger for an extraordinarily long period, remaining deserted and shuttered for 51 years.
At Nicosia International Airport, the clock stopped ticking in 1974, after a failed Greek-backed coup attempt. Greek military leaders orchestrated the coup, which prompted Turkish forces to launch an invasion in retaliation. It comes after a warning to Brit tourists planning all-inclusive holidays to Spain.
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Since then, the island has remained divided between Greek Cypriots inhabiting the southern region and Turkish Cypriots occupying the north, reports the Express.
A UN-monitored ceasefire boundary runs east to west, keeping the two communities apart.
The former international airport at Nicosia now sits within the United Nations buffer zone, forbidden to both residents and visitors.
Photographs expose the eerie remnants of this formerly bustling aviation centre, offering a glimpse into the past.
The reception area serves as a preserved snapshot of the style at the time – deteriorating promotional displays advertise footwear and getaways pledging to whisk holidaymakers to “the ends of the earth”.
Above, an abandoned departure terminal stretches out, featuring rows of chairs blanketed in grime and bird mess. “It is actually frozen in time,” Aleem Siddique, spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus, UNFICYP, told Reuters.
“Although there were several attempts over the years by the sides to reach an agreement, to see the airport being re-opened, restored, rehabilitated, the sides were unable to reach an agreement so gradually the condition of the airport had deteriorated.”
Now, Cyprus’ principal airport sits in the southern coastal town of Larnaca, roughly 50 km (31 miles) distant.
Located in the Greek section of the island, it functions as the main gateway to Cyprus, handling the bulk of international flights from across the globe.
Elsewhere, a tiny UK airport that has been left to rot for almost two decades has finally been given a new lease of life.
Back in its heyday, Sheffield City Airport handled a whopping 75,000 passengers in one single year – whizzing Brits over to the likes of Belfast, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, and London. However, just years after its grand opening in 1997, the hub’s popularity plummeted.
According to The Sheffield Star, passenger numbers fell to 60,000 in 2000 and to just 13,000 by 2002. Struggling to keep up with the boom in low-cost travel, and unable to expand its short runway needed to accommodate larger planes used by budget airlines – it eventually closed its doors in 2008.
The site – which is owned by the University of Sheffield – has now become part of the 100-acre Runway Park development. Featuring the UK’s ‘first reconfigurable digital factory’, a materials lab, and large-scale testing facilities, Runway Park consists of distinct zones for innovation, manufacturing, and leisure – while a central hub links the community together.
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