Fly Kıbrıs Airlines, the newest airline to carry flights to and from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus made its maiden flight on Sunday with its Airbus 320 named “Melekler Takımı” or Angels Team.

There were 84 passengers on board, including the Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu, the Minister of Public Works and Transportation Erhan Arıklı, former Deputy Prime Minister Serdar Denktaş as well as journalists from Türkiye and the TRNC.

Fly Kıbrıs Airlines Flight 104 from Istanbul landed at Ercan Airport on Sunday afternoon, thus launching its flights to and from the TRNC.

Deputy Prime Minister-Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth and Environment Fikri Ataoğlu who spoke to reporters at Ercan said the country had been waiting for the creation of a new airline since 2010.

He added that the long and arduous process had finally come to a happy end with initiatives taken by the private sector.

Ataoğlu also said that the airline will be important for the TRNC which is a university and tourism island.

Fly Kıbrıs Founding Partners Mehmet Yücel, Rauf Denktaş and Nusret Polat all expressed their happiness and pride for creating an airline that will contribute to the country’s economy.