Aviation History
Cyprus's original national carrier, Cyprus Airways, was founded in 1947 as a joint venture with British European Airways and became the island's flag carrier through independence in 1960, surviving the disruption of the 1974 Turkish invasion by relocating operations to Larnaca. Decades of losses and an EU ruling that government rescue funding constituted illegal state aid forced the original airline's closure in January 2015; a rebranded Cyprus Airways relaunched under new private ownership in 2017. The August 2005 crash of Helios Airways Flight 522, Cyprus's deadliest aviation disaster, remains a defining and closely studied episode in the island's aviation safety history.
Cyprus Airways was established on 24 September 1947 as a joint venture between the British colonial government, British European Airways, and private interests, commencing DC-3 services in 1948.
Following Cypriot independence, the government of Cyprus became the majority shareholder of Cyprus Airways, and the carrier became the first Middle Eastern airline to operate jets with its de Havilland Comet 4Bs that year.
The Turkish invasion of Cyprus in July 1974 destroyed or damaged aircraft at Nicosia and forced the airport's closure; Cyprus Airways rebuilt operations from Larnaca by early 1975.
A Helios Airways Boeing 737, crewed for the Cyprus-based low-cost carrier founded in 1998, crashed near Athens on 14 August 2005 after a pressurization failure, killing all 121 aboard in Cyprus's worst aviation accident.
After sustained losses and a European Commission ruling that state rescue funding was illegal aid, Cyprus Airways ceased operations on 9 January 2015 after 67 years.
A newly licensed carrier operating under the acquired Cyprus Airways brand launched scheduled flights from Larnaca in June 2017 under new private ownership.
Cyprus Airways (relaunched, based in Larnaca) · TUS Airways · Eurocypria Airlines (historical, defunct) · Helios Airways (historical, defunct after 2005 crash)
Wikipedia, Cyprus Mail archives, aviation news (Simple Flying, Key.aero)