Three Turkish F-16s take off from north’s airport
Three Turkish F-16 fighter jets took off from the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport on Tuesday afternoon.
The sound of the jets’ engines firing up was audible across most of eastern Nicosia, while people in northern Nicosia’s industrial zone, which is located between Kioneli and Mandres, also reported hearing jets flying overhead.
Sources close to the matter informed the Cyprus Mail that the jets took off “for their own operations”, though were unable to confirm whether they had departed from the airport to take part in a training exercise or as part of a more permanent repositioning.
As a result of the jets’ taking off, an incoming Pegasus Airlines passenger flight from Ankara remained in a holding pattern over the sea east of Trikomo for around 20 minutes.
Turkey had last week issued a notice to airmen (Notam) for possible military activities in the airspace above and surrounding Ercan (Tymbou) airport, with the north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli saying at the time that if the Notam becomes active, there is a possibility of delays in departures from Ercan airport”.
A total of six F-16s have been stationed at Ercan (Tymbou) for the last two weeks, with those fighter jets having been joined by Hisar-A surface-to-air missiles.
The issuing of Turkey’s Notam last week came amid a flurry of Notams and counter-Notams, with the Republic of Cyprus having initially issued a Notam regarding possible operations carried out by the US military off the coast of the Karpas peninsula.
Then, the Turkish Cypriot authorities issued a Notam of their own and Turkey declaring the original Notam “null and void”, before Turkey issued the third, and so far final, Notam of the saga, regarding Ercan (Tymbou) airport.
It is believed that the original Notam was related to a video appearing to show missile fire, which was reportedly taken in the Karpas peninsula village of Platanissos, which was widely circulated on social media on Saturday.
The Turkish government had said that the firing took place in international waters between Cyprus and Turkey.
At present, it believed that the American aircraft carrier the USS George HW Bush is in the region.
The conflict has seen the eastern Mediterranean in the field of live fire, too, with Turkey’s defence ministry having disclosed that Nato air and missile assets located in the region have downed three ballistic missiles launched from Iran in recent weeks.
Greece, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have all deployed naval or aerial assets to the island and its vicinity in recent weeks after it was hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 2. Greece also has four F-16s stationed in Paphos.
This mass deployment of assets prompted Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman to quip on Thursday that there is “barely any space left in the sea” off Cyprus.