Eerie pictures show inside abandoned airport that is frozen in time with planes left to rot for 50 years
Eerie images reveal the ruins of Nicosia International Airport, where planes have been left to rot since it was abandoned in 1974.
Located in the suburb of Lakatamia in the west of Nicosia, Cyprus, the once bustling transport hub now stands as an unforgettable relic frozen in time.
The images show the abandoned terminal, decaying runways and planes left untouched for decades, creating an eerie time capsule of the island’s turbulent past.
The large airport sign is still legible, although a few letters are missing here and there, but these days the only signs of life are the cooing of pigeons perched on its decaying ceiling or the howling wind blowing through its shattered windows.
A reception hall is a time capsule of the trends of the period; peeling billboards advertise shoes and holidays that promise to take travelers ‘to the ends of the world’.
Upstairs, a departure lounge sits empty, littered with rows of seats and pigeon droppings that look like they were taken from an old sci-fi movie set covered in dust.
On the runway, the fuselage of a lone passenger jet riddled with bullet holes lies on the tarmac.
Originally built as an RAF base in the 1920s, Nicosia International Airport played an important role in World War II, serving as an important stopover for military and civilian flights.
Eerie images reveal the ruins of Nicosia International Airport, frozen in time after being abandoned in 1974
On the runway, the shell of a lone passenger jet riddled with bullet holes lies on the tarmac
Nicosia International Airport remains a powerful symbol of the past
By the 1950s and 1960s, it became an important transit point for tourists, even attracting the attention of Hollywood celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor.
However, conflict between Greek and Turkish forces in 1974 led to the destruction and subsequent abandonment of the city.
The airport was officially closed to commercial flights following Türkiye’s invasion of Cyprus and has remained in poor condition ever since.
In 1977, the last commercial airline flights departed Nicosia Airport under UN Special Permit, when British Airways engineers took three Cyprus Airways aircraft and flew them to London.
It has been 50 years since Türkiye invaded Cyprus last July in response to a brief coup by the army that ruled Greece at the time.
Greek Cypriots live in the south of Cyprus and Turkish Cypriots live in the north, and they are separated by the UN-controlled ceasefire line that divides the island from east to west.
Reunification talks yielded no results.
Today, the airport lies within a United Nations Protected Area and is largely closed to the public, but it has become a coveted destination for urban explorers attracted by its decadent grandeur and historical significance.
Pictured is the exterior of the abandoned Nicosia International Airport
Seats in the departure hall of the old Nicosia Airport terminal building were covered with bird droppings
The old baggage claim hall at Nicosia International Airport is decaying
The airport was officially closed to commercial flights following Türkiye’s invasion of Cyprus, and its condition has deteriorated since then.
Today, the airport lies within the United Nations Protected Area and is largely closed to the public.
The old control tower at Nicosia International Airport
Pictured is the skeleton of a luggage belt that has been left untouched for decades
Barbed wire blocks entry to main hall inside abandoned travel center
The old main terminal at Nicosia International Airport
Arrival terminal at abandoned Nicosia International Airport
Sign at abandoned Nicosia International Airport saying ‘Tipping porters is not allowed’
A spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus said last year: ‘It is essentially frozen in time
‘Although various attempts were made by the parties over the years to reach an agreement, to reopen, restore, rehabilitate the airport, the parties were unable to reach an agreement and therefore gradually the condition of the airport deteriorated.’
Despite its eerie silence, Nicosia International Airport remains a powerful symbol of the past; Its derelict runways whisper the stories of the thousands of travelers who once passed through its gates.
