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Important Judgment delivered by the UK High Court of Justice on Flights to the Illegal Airport Operating in the Occupied Part of Cyprus

The Administrative Court of the High Court of Justice of the United Kingdom delivered its judgment on the application for judicial review brought by Kibris Turk Hava Yollari (a company registered in Turkey) and CTA Holidays (a company registered in the UK) against the decision of the Secretary of State for Transport to refuse their applications for the granting of permits to conduct direct flights, scheduled and non scheduled/chartered, between the UK and the airport operating illegally in the occupied area of the Republic under the name of ”Ercan”.

The judgment dismissed the applicant’s case and upheld the decision of the UK Government to reject the applications by reason of the UK’s obligations to respect the Chicago Convention, whose part is the Republic of Cyprus too, and the UK’s obligations not to recognize the self-styled “TurkishRepublic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”).

According to the judgment, no permits for scheduled or chartered flights or for landing at designated airports can be granted, other than by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. The granting of such permits by any State, or permits as respects “Ercan”, are unlawful and violate the Republic of Cyprus’s rights under the Chicago Convention.

The judge made the important point that thousands of people cross the demarcation line between the occupied area of Cyprus and the free area of the Republic of Cyprus on a daily basis. This makes the international airports in the area controlled by the government of the Republic of Cyprus easily accessible by the population in the occupied area. He pointed out that distances on the island are sufficiently small that use of the airports situated in the government –controlled area was perfectly practicable. Therefore, the rationale of serious prejudice to the inhabitants of the occupied part of Cyprus was inapplicable.