Cyprus Airways seeks new buyer for Heathrow time slots

A Cyprus Airways deal with Qatar Air for the sale of the cash-strapped national carrier’s time slot at London’s Heathrow airport for €15 million has fallen through, informed sources said recently.

“It seems that publicizing the figure before the deal had been finalized was a big mistake. There are too many carriers in trouble these days, Qatar probably got a better offer,” a source said. “Cyprus Airways is now back to negotiating a new deal with a new potential buyer,” added the source. Last week, the two sides’ legal advisers were in the process of drafting the agreement as the national carrier’s pilots had voiced opposition to the sale. Pilots argued that flights to London are an important source of income for the airline and link Cyprus with the large Cypriot expatriate community. CY posted losses of €55 million for 2012, doubling its 2011 losses of €24 million.

Source: InCyprus

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articles | 15 January 2014