Last Wednesday (19/3) the student groups, accompanied by the project mentors and coordinator arrived at Foxtrot Gate near the Ayios Dometios roundabout. This is the first blog entry I am writing in first person, since this was an emotional experience for me too, as well as the students. This was not the first time I had passed that gate. In 1990, my father had a won a contract in Kokkinotrimithia and in the absence of a direct highway he was granted a pass to drive through the UN Protected Area enclosing the closed airport. I accompanied him on several occasions in this drive through the time and was mystified while driving the last stretch towards the Kokkinotrimithia Gate, to see the closed terminal and the abandoned aircraft on the left side.
Yesterday, receiving the pass and entering the gate, those same feelings returned. Taking the turn on the left shortly after the gate and passing by the abandoned "Corner" restaurant, the British Forces NAAFI, the deserted Flight Information Centre, the Golf Club and finally arriving in that last stretch. There it was, as if no time had passed. As we drove towards the terminal, I noticed for the first time the emptied water fountains by its entrance. Finally the coach came to rest and stepped off next to the terminal for the first time.
Everyone I had talked about the airport and was lucky enough to visit it pre-1974, shares the same story "..the cafeteria on the top floor overlooking the runway was magnificent! We used to go and have coffee there looking at the landings and take offs." as if it is a part of a collective memory. This time we had someone with us who could help us relive and imagine what the airport looked like operational.
Meet Pantelis Georgiou
Yesterday, we had the pleasure to have with us someone who had spent a large part of his career at the airport and was there in 1974 to see it closing down after the invasion. Mr Pantelis Georgiou is the former director of the Larnaca International Airport, having spent 40 years in Civil Aviation until his retirement in 1994. He is my mother's uncle and since we had lost our grandfather from her side very young, he acted as a grandfather figure to us, usually joking about model aeroplanes being born from the real jets.
He was a graduate of the Pancyprian Gymnasium in Nicosia and on the 1st of January 1954 he joined the Department of Civil Aviation of the young Republic of Cyprus. Until that time, the old airport (which is located just south-east of the new terminal) was operated by Cyprus Airways, a then subsidiary of BOAC. He was initially responsible for signalling and fire safety during refuelling. In 1957 he was promoted to Airport Assistant, being responsible taxying aircraft and cleaning and later after training and other professional courses he became an airport ground operations supervisor. The job was hard, but he enjoyed it. "When you love what you do, you'll do a great job at it".
He remembers the opening and move to the new terminal. "The new terminal looked brilliant but was not at all functional". He claims budget limitations forced designers to make significant cutbacks, hindering functionality. "There were only two ramps on the north and south of the terminal and passengers had to walk with a guide to go to the aircraft and vice versa. When there was a plane leaving or arriving, passengers would wait on the apron until it was gone or parked". Even though the airport was not a true hub it was frequently used for diverted traffic from flights going to neighbouring countries when the weather was bad. Having two non-parallel runways (main-1432 and secondary -0927) meant that even in high cross-winds aircraft could still land in the airport. He remembers that Cyprus Airways had a training aircraft made of canvas and when it was windy ground crew would stand in the run way and help it land.
We could not go into the building since it had exposed asbestos as well as some architectural features had collapsed. Despite that, the main structural elements of the building seemed to be in satisfactory condition. We then started moving around the terminal. Right in front of us were the check in counters at a very close proximity to the front doors. "During the invasion we were asked by a Greek Military Officer to break the front glasses" he said. There was a major battle of the airport but the terminal was not directly hit. "What was hit was the intersection of the two runways-1432 and 0927, this meant that no aircraft could land and take off so amidst the fighting we brought concrete and compacting cylinders to fix that".
We could not go into the building since it had exposed asbestos as well as some architectural features had collapsed. Despite that, the main structural elements of the building seemed to be in satisfactory condition. We then started moving around the terminal. Right in front of us were the check in counters at a very close proximity to the front doors. "During the invasion we were asked by a Greek Military Officer to break the front glasses" he said. There was a major battle of the airport but the terminal was not directly hit. "What was hit was the intersection of the two runways-1432 and 0927, this meant that no aircraft could land and take off so amidst the fighting we brought concrete and compacting cylinders to fix that".
As we turned around the building we were able to have a view of the high ceiling main room of the airport with skylights, through the broken glass of the north side facade. Although there was no electricity the room was well-lit, since skylights let the light of the sunny day in. On the left you could still see the posters from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation campaign. On the right there were the duty free shops and security while at the south end you can almost see the staircase that took you to the cafeteria/restaurant area.
Our next stop was further north, past the ground operations offices to the deserted aircraft hangar. In front of it lied the Cyprus Airways Trident aircraft which made the last commercial flight landing to the airport. This was flight CY317 with Captain Marneros from London Heathrow. Mr Andros Eftasthiou of Is Not Gallery had taken some great recent photos of the then crew. These pictures can be found on the Useful Resources page of this site or Mr Michalis Christodoulou blog, who took an interview of Mr Efstathiou and Mr Marneros for Kathimerini.
Returning back to the terminal you could see the big sign stating Nicosia International Airport, the first thing passengers would see as they landed on 1432, worn by time. Below this, was the public cafeteria balcony overlooking the runway. "Back then security was not that big of an issue, as it is now. Someone from the balcony could have easily given something to a person that had crossed security and vice versa" Mr. Georgiou said. As we walked across the west face from north to south, he showed us the VIP lounge, the customs next it, his office as ground operations officer, the runways transport office and finally the kitchen.
Beyond the terminal on the south there were then small buildings for the airport trucks and ladders. The students questioned Mr. Georgiou about the refuelling system. "No such system existed back then, bowsers (fuel tankers) would come from nearby fuel stations", he said. Around the corner the south facade included the south passenger ramp, as well as a big external staircase leading to the cafeteria balcony.
Shortly after this our visit came to an end and had to return back to Limassol. The students were quite excited with the experience and wished they could have visited this earlier. Leaving the airport and exiting the gate was quite melancholic. It took me 24 years to visit back and I only hope it will not take that long for my next visit. This is actually the essence of this project. By motivating and pushing to have more proposals of how the future will look like, it increases the probability of actually creating something positive.
Next week the groups are having their second interim presentations, where they will show their progress and receive help from mentors. On Thursday the 27th I will be presenting the project at an event about the Nicosia Airport and Famagusta at Haroupomyloi Laniti in Limassol, organised by the Limassol Night School. If you are interested to participate you can find the invite here and RSVP as asked.
You can find more pictures from the visit at the useful resources gallery. Feel free to download and use them by citing the name of the project (NIA-The Return. Cyprus University of Technology)
Next week the groups are having their second interim presentations, where they will show their progress and receive help from mentors. On Thursday the 27th I will be presenting the project at an event about the Nicosia Airport and Famagusta at Haroupomyloi Laniti in Limassol, organised by the Limassol Night School. If you are interested to participate you can find the invite here and RSVP as asked.
You can find more pictures from the visit at the useful resources gallery. Feel free to download and use them by citing the name of the project (NIA-The Return. Cyprus University of Technology)
I would like to express my gratitude to UNFICYP Captain Tomas Ciampor for coordinating and supporting our visit to the Nicosia International Airport and Mr Pantelis Georgiou, who despite his health problems, came eagerly along to share his experiences and help our students.