Adamos Adamou
An airline subsidy for each additional passenger beyond 40% of the fullness of their aircraft for another six months was approved yesterday by the Council of Ministers, adopting a relevant proposal by the Minister of Transport, Giannis Karousos.
Speaking after yesterday's meeting of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Karousos specifically stated that the House approved for another six months (for the first half of 2022) the extension of the existing temporary Incentive Plan to airlines “which is in line with the temporary framework for relaxation of State aid, which has been approved by the European Commission and which has expired by the end of the year “.
The European Commission, he added, has decided to extend the temporary Plan and the relaxation by six months, as well as increase the ceiling and for this a relevant proposal was prepared and submitted to the Council of Ministers to extend the existing Plan that we implement, to comply with the limits. and the conditions set by the EU.
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He explained that the interim Incentive Plan has been judged to be very effective and has worked successfully, adding that “statistics show that in 2021 we managed to have flights to 158 destinations, while in 2019 we had flights to 150 destinations”.
It is noted that the relevant project, managed on behalf of the state by Hermes Airports, is fully funded by the Republic of Cyprus and is addressed to all airlines and uses the aircraft occupancy index as a basis, providing that the risk of meeting the demand for occupancy rates up to 40% of aircraft are undertaken by airlines. However, in addition to holding back and strengthening air connectivity in the event of a pandemic, the plan seems to have its own contribution to the tourist arrivals this year, which from June onwards began to recover in relation to the tragic 2020.
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