Guide to Larnaca Airport

Larnaca International Airport (LCA) is the main airport of Cyprus, just 5 km south-west of Larnaca on the shore of the salt lake, where the flamingos winter in view of the runway. Run by Hermes Airports since 2006, it moved into the present terminal in 2009 and now handles well over eight million passengers a year. Because Cyprus is an island at the edge of Europe, the schedule is busy in every season and unusually international: Greece, the UK, Israel, the Gulf and Eastern Europe all in one arrivals hall.

One terminal, arrivals on the ground floor, departures upstairs; the car parks, bus stops and taxi rank are all within a two-minute walk of the doors. Cyprus drives on the left, a detail that matters the moment you leave the building.

Transport

Larnaca town is 5 km away: about €15 by taxi or €1.50 on bus 425 to Finikoudes. Nicosia, Limassol and Ayia Napa each have a direct airport shuttle for around €10, or a taxi from €60.

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Parking

Short-stay and long-stay car parks sit side by side in front of the terminal, from about €3 an hour and around €11 a day, with online discounts for longer stays. Private car parks on the airport road are cheaper for a fortnight.

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Car rental

All the major rental companies have desks in the arrivals hall with cars in the adjacent car park. Cyprus drives on the left, hire cars wear red number plates, and the motorways are toll-free. Most contracts forbid taking the car across the Green Line.

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Local tips

  • The airport shuttles to Nicosia, Limassol and Ayia Napa leave from outside arrivals and wait for the late flights. For one traveller they beat any taxi; for a family with a late Protaras arrival, a pre-booked transfer beats both.
  • Cyprus drives on the left. If you have never done it, take the automatic, and use the empty airport road to get the feel of it before the first roundabout.
  • UK flights are non-Schengen here just as everywhere in the EU, but Cyprus is not in Schengen at all, so every international flight has passport control. Allow two and a half hours in the summer evening wave.
  • The salt lake beside the runway fills with flamingos from November to March; the walking path along it starts a ten-minute walk from the terminal and is the best use of a long layover in winter.
  • Arrivals from Tel Aviv and the UK land in the same hour on summer evenings and the passport queue for non-EU passports gets long; EU passport holders should use the e-gates.

See also

Prices and timetables are indicative and change seasonally. Confirm before you travel.