From today's Cyprus Mail online edition:
Cyprus’ first 747 to land in Larnaca on Monday
By Leo Leonidou
THE FIRST Cyprus-registered Boeing 747 is expected at Larnaca airport on Monday, it has been announced.
One of the biggest planes ever to land on the island, the Air Universal Cyprus Boeing 747-200B series, registration number 5B-AUD, is expected at around midday. According to Nicos Pavlides, the airline’s Director of Engineering, “the final details of the flight plan for the arrival have not yet been finalised. The plane, purchased from All Nippon Airways of Japan, will be offloading some equipment and spares at the airport and then continuing on to Paphos where it will remain for a few days.”
Air Universal, first set up in Jordan 2002, was registered in Cyprus in 2004. The company is currently in the final stages of obtaining its air operator’s certificate, which will clear the airline to fly commercially from Cyprus. A recent delay has been caused by a memorandum of understanding not being signed on time between Cypriot and Greek civil aviation authorities.
Pavlides went on to say that: “After we obtain the certificate, we plan to introduce a second sister 747 to our Cyprus operations and have future plans for more planes. The basic idea is to join Larnaca and Paphos airports with destinations in the United States, Canada, Australia, China, India and Latin America.”
The company has just reviewed and finalised its business plan and final destinations, with details to be announced shortly.
Last year, the airline’s president Talal Abu Reyal said: “We want to connect the West and the East using Larnaca airport as a hub.”
He said he had selected Larnaca as his base because of its geographical location at the crossroads of three continents. This was combined with the fact that Cyprus had recently joined the EU, also a strong selling point in its favour.
Abu Reyal added that Universal’s long-haul scheduled flight plans would not clash with Cyprus’ domestic carriers, which fly only short-to-medium routes to Europe and the Middle East.
The Boeing 747-200B series can carry up to 480 passengers, is 232 feet in length, 60 feet high and has a wing span of 196 feet. It is powered by four General Electric CF6-50E2 engines, one of the most reliable jet engines in operation.
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