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Haunting photographs reveal the desolate state of Nicosia International Airport, where planes have remained untouched since the facility was deserted in 1974.
Once a thriving transportation hub located in the Lakatamia area west of Nicosia, Cyprus, the airport now stands as a ghostly monument trapped in history.
The images depict the abandoned terminal, crumbling runways, and aircraft left to decay for decades, serving as an eerie reminder of the island’s turbulent history.
Despite missing letters, the airport’s large sign is still recognizable. Today, the only traces of life are the cooing pigeons nesting in the deteriorating ceiling and the wind whistling through broken windows.
The reception hall remains a snapshot of past trends, with faded advertisements for shoes and vacations promising journeys “to the ends of the earth” still visible on peeling boards.
Upstairs, a departure lounge lies empty, with rows of seats that look like they were taken out of an early sci-fi movie set coated in dust, and pigeon droppings.
Out on the runway, the shell of a solitary passenger jet sits on the tarmac, riddled with bullet holes.
Originally built in the 1920s as an RAF base, Nicosia International Airport played a crucial role in World War II, serving as a key stopover for military and civilian flights.
Eerie images reveal the remains of Nicosia International Airport, which has been frozen in time after it was abandoned in 1974
Out on the runway, the shell of a solitary passenger jet sits on the tarmac, riddled with bullet holes
Nicosia International Airport remains a powerful symbol of the past
By the 1950s and 1960s, it had become a major gateway for tourists, even attracting Hollywood celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor.
However, in 1974, conflict between Greek and Turkish forces led to its destruction and subsequent abandonment.
The airport was officially closed to commercial flights following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, leaving it to deteriorate ever since.
In 1977 the last commercial airline flights left Nicosia Airport under UN Special Authorisation, when British Airways engineers retrieved three stranded Cyprus Airways aircraft and flew them to London.
Last July, it marked 50 years since Turkey invaded Cyprus in response to a brief coup orchestrated by the military then ruling Greece.
Greek Cypriots live in Cyprus’ south, and Turkish Cypriots in its north, separated by a UN controlled ceasefire line cleaving the island east to west.
Reunification talks have failed to yield any result.
Today, the airport lies within a United Nations Protected Area and remains largely off-limits to the public, but it has become a coveted location for urban explorers fascinated by its decayed grandeur and historical significance.
Image shows the exterior of the abandoned Nicosia International Airport
Bird droppings cover seats in the departure lounge inside the old Nicosia airport terminal building
The former baggage claim hall at Nicosia International Airport stands decaying
The airport was officially closed to commercial flights following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, leaving it to deteriorate ever since
Today, the airport lies within a United Nations Protected Area and remains largely off-limits to the public
The former control tower at Nicosia International Airport
Image shows the skeleton of a luggage belt that has been left untouched for decades
Barbed wire prevents entry into the main hall inside the abandoned travel hub
The former main terminal at Nicosia International Airport
Arrival terminal at the abandoned Nicosia International Airport
A sign reading ‘Tipping porters not allowed’ at the abandoned Nicosia International Airport
A spokesperson for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus said last year: ‘It is actually frozen in time
‘Although there were several attempts over the years by the sides to reach an agreement, to see the airport being re-opened, restored, rehabilitated, the sides were unable to reach an agreement so gradually the condition of the airport had deteriorated.’
Despite its eerie silence, Nicosia International Airport remains a powerful symbol of the past, its derelict runways whispering stories of the thousands of travellers who once passed through its gates.