Cypriots planning to make a late foreign getaway will still have to dig deep into their pockets just to get off the ground.
Last-minute holidaymakers flying to any destination should expect to dish out a significant amount on airfares, as high demand and short supply has kept airfares relatively high.
Indicative of the situation, Cypriots wanting to travel to Athens for the last weekend of September will have to dish out EUR 250 return. Prices are for travellers with up to 23 kg of luggage.
Travellers are able to find cheaper flights if they are willing to catch early flights during mid-week, with prices in the region of EUR 150.
Prices are believed to be higher than the same period in previous years due to the low supply of flights after the void created with the demise of Cobalt Air.
Vasilis Stamataris, president of the Association of Cyprus Travel Agencies (ACTA), in comments to StockWatch said that airfares to Greece and London had stabilised, but with increased demand coming in the coming weeks as students return to their studies, prices are expected to rise once again.
Increased demand, according to Stamataris, concerns not only students but also holidaymakers who prefer to avoid the summer months take leave in autumn.
Airfares, especially to Athens and London in the summer months had reached eyewatering levels during the holiday rush.
Cyprus business leaders had said earlier in the summer that in some cases flights to Greek destinations had reached EUR 690 return.
In a joint press conference in June, the Cyprus-Greece Business Association and the CCCI presented a table of airfares for the summer months showing tickets for Athens reaching €690 and Salonica €508.
The prices were for a return ticket for an adult travelling with a suitcase allowance of 23 kg.
Regarding air traffic to and from the island, Stamataris notes that regardless of prices, both outbound and inbound flights have recorded a satisfactory increase.
Top Kinisis CEO Dinos Kakkouras noted that while Greece remains the most popular holiday destination for Cypriots, things could be better if there were more flight options to the Greek islands with lower airfares.
Kakkouras said that Cypriot holidaymakers are showing more interest in trips to other European destinations, while more are opting to take a cruise compared to last year.
He said that prices depend on supply and demand, the date and destination, noting that prices will drop mid-autumn.
In the first seven months of 2019, 12% more Cypriots travelled abroad, while the number of total trips reached 896,000.
Greece remains the favourite destination, despite the total number of trips dropping by 5.5% to 284,000.
Trips to the United Kingdom increased by 7.3% reaching 136,000 compared to 127,000 last year.
