Ryanair announce twelve new routes for winter 2018
By Bejay Browne
 
Ryanair announced 12 new routes from Paphos for winter 2018, increasing its capacity by 74 per cent over last year.
 
The new routes include Bournemouth and Liverpool and will contribute 940,000 passengers annually as Ryanair nearly doubles its operation in Paphos, Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer David O’Brien told a press conference.
 
He told the Paphos Post that the increase from three winter destinations to 15 is going to need “an awful lot of effort by the tourist boards”.
 
“This is an opportunity, we’re going to provide the seats and exceptionally low fares but I think the hotels and the tourist board have really got to get the message out there in these cities that this is the place to go and this is how to get here. We look forward to working with the tourist boards to make that happen,” he said.
 
O’Brien said that Ryanair, in keeping with others, has identified central Eastern Europe and the Baltic states as an emerging source of customers and as unemployment has fallen in places like Poland and the Baltic States, he said, people now want to take holidays.
 
“Now is the time for Cyprus to grab this before Spain, Malta and everyone else does,” he said.
 
He said that as more and more hotels are staying open every winter, this is a positive move.
 
The new routes include twice weekly flights connecting Paphos with Amman, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Bucharest, Budapest, Chania (which has been reinstated), Krakow, Liverpool, Riga and Tallinn. Flights will be operated once a week to Dublin and Kaunas.
 
The 15 total routes will also include daily flights to London Stansted, Tel Aviv and Thessaloniki.
 
The increase in routes is expected to generate a total of 700 jobs.
 
Last year Ryanair had to suspend a slew of flights following what the airline described as a ‘staff holiday rostering problem’.
 
O’Brien said that the mistake of rostering too many pilots on holiday at the same time was a “screw up” which led to the airline shrinking its winter programme to ensure they would be stable through the season, and this proved successful.
 
“The rostering problem was fixed and there is no problem. We are in discussions with various unions around Europe as part of a new phase of our evolution with a view to recognising unions and individual countries,” he added.
 
 
 
Paphos veterinary clinic awarded Gold at European awards
By Bejay Browne
 
A Paphos veterinary clinic has just been awarded a gold International Arch of Europe award at a ceremony held in Frankfurt, Germany.
 
The award is given by Business Initiative Directions (BID) and recognises D and N Vets in Paphos for ‘immeasurable contribution to the business world and for high standing and professionalism demonstrated by prestigious performance as well as quality and technology’.
 
Set up in Paphos in 2004 by husband and wife Dimitris and Natalia Demitriou, the veterinary clinic was awarded at the World BID Congress held on 17 to 18 March 2018 in Frankfurt.
 
Dimitris told the Paphos Post that the pair, who have just returned from Frankfurt, are delighted with their award which means much to both of them.
 
“I am feeling very proud and we were the only company from Cyprus to be recognised, we were flying the flag,” he said.
 
He added that the award is an international recognition of the high level of veterinary services provided in Cyprus and the dynamics of the industry in the domestic economy. The couple’s business was evaluated for ten months ahead of the awards, he said.
 
Natalia added that the award has taken their business ‘to the next level.’
 
“Our quality and management was recognised and we met so many other businesses from around the world, it was a great experience,” she said.
 
The event was attended by large companies from around 182 countries active in all sectors of manufacturing and business around the world.
 
The Business Initiative Directions (B.I.D.) were founded in the US before moving on to Spain in 1986, which then saw them expand across Europe.
 
Ahead of the gala dinner and award ceremony in Germany, the couple participated in a seminar and spoke about their business, sharing ideas with other awarded ventures from around the world.
 
“We are the first people in Cyprus to ever win this award and we have also just opened a new clinic in Dali in Nicosia,” Natalia said.
 
The pair met while studying in Russia a number of years ago. Their love of animals has passed down to their three children, she said.
 
 
Cypriot volunteer receives Commonwealth Points of Light award for protection of songbirds
By Bejay Browne
 
A Cypriot volunteer has received the Commonwealth ‘Points of Light’ award in honour of his campaign for the protection of songbirds in Cyprus.
 
Klitos Papastylianou is an environmental activist who is working to protect natural habitats and biodiversity in Cyprus.
 
During the migratory season Papastylianou actively campaigns against the illegal trapping and killing of over 2 million songbirds every year in Cyprus, which are later sold as delicacies in a black market multi-million pound industry. He also supports public consultation of construction projects across the island, to ensure the environmental impact is minimised.
 
The activist was presented with his award at the British High Commission in Nicosia by Ian Whitting OBE, Deputy UK High Commissioner in Cyprus.
 
Papastylianou said: “I want to thank the High Commission and the Points of Light for this great honour. I consider the award recognition of efforts in place to tackle two severe challenges for the protection of biodiversity in Cyprus: on the one hand, the illegal, mass and uncontrollable trapping and smuggling of wild birds, and on the other hand the insufficient policy to safeguard, preserve and manage natural habitats. I wish this award can contribute towards achieving these goals.”
 
 
Support growing for LGBT community in Paphos
By Bejay Browne
 
Monthly rainbow meetings in support of the LGBT community are being held Geroskipou, following the success of similar events that got underway in Paphos last June.
 
The meetings are co-ordinated by Accept LGBT Cyprus’ representative in Paphos, South African Cypriot Zac Theophanous.
 
He said that even though only two meetings have taken place in Geroskipou so far, they are already proving successful.
 
“At both the Paphos meetings and now in Geroskipou many people attend, including some great parents and LGBT allies as well. The meetings provide a place that offers support, discussion and advice; acceptance for people is very important,” Theophanous told the Paphos Post.
 
He said that currently a number of participants travel considerable distances to participate in meetings from remote villages in the district, showing there is a great need to feel part of something and share a sense of belonging where people can meet others with similar experiences.
 
Last June, Theophanous raised the rainbow flag for the first time at Paphos town hall, ahead of the Cyprus Pride Parade which is held in Nicosia.
 
“We will do this again this year and this time we are also in the process of applying to raise the rainbow flag at Geroskipou municipality as well,” he said.
 
It is hoped that rainbow meetings will also be established in Peyia and Polis in the future, but the organiser said that this will be done ‘step by step’.
 
Rainbow meetings have been held in Cyprus since 2010, when they first took place in Nicosia.
 
President of Accept Nicholas Tryfon said that highlighting issues concerning the LGBT community remains of the utmost importance and that this year’s Pride march will again offer a way to do that.
 
“There is far more interest generated in Pride now than there was at the beginning, and as it has progressed it has created awareness and bought issues out into the open.”
 
The annual march has helped to ‘normalise’ the LGBT community which was previously ‘taboo’.
 
“In some circles this view remains, but it’s less of an unknown issue,” he said.
 
Pride is an opportunity for change and for increasing members of the community – gay, straight, bi or trans – to show their support each year.
 
“It brings many people together that want the same thing, equal rights for all,” he said.
 
One of the issues highlighted this year is legal gender recognition for the trans community in Cyprus, he said. For the past two years, Accept Cyprus has been working towards this with the Council of Europe.
 
“It is in the process of being checked that it follows European laws and we hope to get it into parliament before Pride. We would love to announce this legal recognition at Pride.”
 
If this is not possible due to the Easter holidays and the subsequent August break, it would be September, he said.
 
The annual Pride march will take place on June 3rd in Nicosia, and if enough interest is shown from Paphos, a bus to and from the capital will be laid on for a small fee, said Theophanous.
 
“We will also be organising a number of events to mark ‘Pride Days’ in Paphos and we are finalising them now,” he said.
 
Rainbow meetings are held in Paphos on the third Monday of the month at the Youth Centre from 5.30pm- 7.30pm and in Geroskipou on the first Tuesday of the month at the Iris counselling centre from 6pm- 8pm.

www.acceptcy.org

 
 
Decision on Paphos marina due imminently
By Bejay Browne
 
A new administrative marina management committee has been appointed by the council of ministers and is currently examining documents and paperwork submitted as part of the tender process for the highly anticipated Paphos marina.
 
Head of the Paphos Chamber of Commerce (EVE) Andreas Demetriades told the Paphos Post he expects a decision between the two remaining bids and work to finally get underway on the facility at Potima Bay in Kissonerga.
 
“Because of successful recourse brought by the Poseidon consortium to the Supreme Court of Cyprus after their bid was rejected, which found that the committee responsible for overseeing the Paphos marina tender process was unlawful, the previous decision was void,” he explained.
 
A decision made by the marina management committee in 2017 saw Poseidon – a joint venture in which Aristo Developers is a major stakeholder – lose out to Pafilia developers after the body found that evidence supplied to secure financing for the multi-million euro project was ‘not satisfactory’.
 
The recourse brought by Poseidon consortium argued that the committee’s move to dismiss their tender and move on to request Pafialia – the developer next on the list – to commence negotiations was wrongful.
“This decision affects only the two existing tenders and not the first unsuccessful one,” he said.
 
In 2008 the tender was initially awarded to the Cybarco-Pandora consortium, which includes the Leptos Group.
 
However, the other two bidding consortiums, Pafilia and Poseidon challenged the award at various stages. The project was then frozen after litigation began in 2008.
 
In December 2015, the Supreme Court voted in favour of Poseidon but they still had to submit proof of funds. Poseidon’s €215 million marina bid was rejected in April 2017 as the committee decided that they were unable to meet the financial criteria, this meant that tender runner up Pafilia, utilising a different design at a cost of around €175 million, could submit their paperwork.
 
But in December last year, recourse brought by the consortium argued that the committee’s move to dismiss their tender and move on to request Pafialia to commence negotiations was wrongful.
 
“The new committee is currently appraising the submission of the Poseidon joint venture to see if it meets the criteria, if not, then they will examine the tender of Pafilia,” Demetriades said.
 
If no-one meets the tender requirements, he added, then the tender will be updated and a new international tender issued.
 
Community leader of Kissonerga George Stylianou said all data should be thoroughly checked to avoid any further delays or ‘mishaps’ to the process, which has been ongoing for almost 12 years. The new marina will provide a substantial income for the community, he said.
 
 
Cypriot teacher wins global award
By Bejay Browne
 
Cypriot teacher Andria Zafirakou has won a million-dollar prize for being the most outstanding teacher in the world and was chosen from 30,000 entries from 173 countries.
 
Zafirakou, 39, was born in London to a Greek Cypriot mother and a Greek father, and is an art and textile teacher at Alperton Community School in Brent.
 
Shw was named winner of the fourth annual Varkey Foundation Global Teacher award at a ceremony in Dubai. In an effort to make children and parents feel included she learned basic greetings in many of the 35 languages spoken at the school, visited students’ home and travelled on the bus with them to get to know them better, as well as redesigning the curriculum to make it more relevant to the pupils.
 
“I was shocked. I was completely overwhelmed. I didn’t realise it was me,” she told reporters. British Prime Minister Theresa May also congratulated her in a video message.
 
The terms of the award specify that Zafirakou will be required to keep working as a teacher for at least five years, during which she will receive the money in instalments. She will also be a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation.