Over 30 flights scheduled to take off from Israel and land in Israel, were delayed last week for 2-3 hours due to technical problems in the air traffic control system in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The Air Traffic Control Units in Nicosia provides advice and information for the safe and efficient conduct of flight operating in the designated routes and agreed heights within the Cypriot airspace.
Thousands of outgoing passengers were stranded at the airport due to the delay. Most of the flights leaving Israel pass through Cyprus airspace, once they leave Israeli airspace, which is why all incoming and outgoing Ben Gurion Airport flights were suffering serious delays.
The Israel Airports Authority said that Cyprus was regulating air traffic very slowly: flights were being allowed through only at 2-3 hour intervals, thereby causing overloads at Ben Gurion Airport.
