Fact Sheet: Flying to the
Republic of Cyprus the Legal Way


• All international airlines except for Turkish and Turkish Cypriot Airlines respect the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus and fly only into the legal ports of entry of the Republic of Cyprus

• Direct flights into occupied Cyprus are inconsistent with the principles of international law and are in violation of local Cypriot laws.

• The sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus is confirmed by U.N. Security Council Resolutions 514 in 1983 and 550 in 1984.

• International law mandates that flights cannot enter a country’s airspace without consent of the sovereign government.

• The United States’ domestic law supports international law and the international custom of nations per the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation (1944). The Chicago Convention binds all signatories, including the United States, Cyprus, and Turkey.

• The Republic of Cyprus has not authorized flights into occupied airports.

• Flights into occupied airports raise serious human and property right issues as the airports are located on seized property resulting from the illegal Turkish invasion.

• The Republic of Cyprus encourages visits to the occupied area through legal ports of entry, which is consistent with international law.


For more information about the American Hellenic Institute in Washington, D.C., contact Georgia Economou, Director of Public Relations for AHI, at (202) 785-8430 or at georgia@ahiworld.org, or visit the groups' website at http://www.ahiworld.org. AHI was founded in 1974 following Turkey's illegal invasion and occupation of 37.3% of Cyprus. It is a membership-based organization with members throughout the nation. AHI's core mission is to promote American values and the rule of law in U.S. foreign policy and to strengthen relations between the U.S. and Greece and Cyprus as being in the best interests of the United States. It conducts an active program with Congress in espousing and supporting legislation designed to promote American interests in Southeast Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean and is registered with the Congress under the Lobbying Act. The AHI Foundation is the first think-tank devoted exclusively to the study of the issues confronting the Greek American community. This organization sponsors conferences, seminars and publishes books and other materials on the issues.

HCS maintains an extensive archives for AHI articles and press releases which visitors may browse under the American Hellenic Institute Releases section of the archives at http://www.helleniccomserve.com/contents.html.


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