TRAVEL SAFETY
Latest Cyprus travel advice after a ‘Syrian missile’ explodes in Nicosia nature park
AN area in Cyprus that's popular with Brits was hit by a stray missile, thought to be a Syrian anti-aircraft weapon fired to fend off airstrikes.
The missile, which landed in a park near Nicosia at around 1am local time (10pm GMT), then sparked a fire on the hillside.
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With around a million Brits travelling to Cyprus each year, we explain what happened and the current safety advice from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
What happened in the missile strike?
The missile landed in the region of Tashkent, also known as Vouno.
It's located in the Turkish occupied northern Cyprus and is an area that many Brits would visit.
It is thought that the missile was fired by the Syrian defence forces in response to Israeli warplanes targeting military positions in Homs and Damascus last night.
War ravaged Homs is just 193 miles from Nicosia, the Cyprus capital.
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Is is safe to travel to Cyprus?
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) hasn't .
They simply advise that terrorist attacks in Cyprus can’t be ruled out and that they could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners.
Worried Brits can sign up for travel alerts to be sent to their email via the FCO's website.
In fact, Cyprus is considered the 36th safest country in the world according to the World Economic Forum (WEF) - who publish a Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report every two years.
The report looks at the cost of common crime and violence, the number of terrorist incidents, how reliable the local police are and the homicide rate in each country per 100,000 of the population.
Cyprus is seen as one of the safest country for homicides, affecting 0.1 per 100,000 of the population, but crime against tourists is not common, so visitors are advised to keep passports, money and other valuables safe.
Previous travel warnings for Cyprus
Last year, an alert warning was issued to pilots flying into and out of Cyprus and other countries near Syria.
Air traffic control chiefs warned airlines they may be caught in military strikes as tensions mount between the US and Russia – with the UK joining coalition strikes on the Assad regime.
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The "rapid alert" was issued by Eurocontrol on April 11, telling pilots that "due consideration needs to be taken" of possible air-to-ground strikes or cruise missiles into Syria "within the next 72 hours".
Meanwhile, other major airlines re-routed flights.
Kuwait Airways halted flights to Beirut on April 12 after a warning about flying close to Lebanese airspace.
Flights to Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri International Airport were suspended after officials received a security warning from authorities in Cyprus.
The alert read: “Due to the possible launch of air strikes into Syria with air-to-ground and/or cruise missiles within the next 72 hours, and the possibility of intermittent disruption of radio navigation equipment, due consideration needs to be taken when planning flight operations in the Eastern Mediterranean/Nicosia FIR area.”
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Airlines, including easyJet and Air France, re-routed flights after Europe’s air traffic control agency warned them to be ready for military strikes.
Overnight on April 13, British jets joined American and French forces in launching air strikes on chemical weapons facilities in Syria.
The three nations launched more than 100 airstrikes in a "one-time shot", that was more than double the firepower of the US airstrike on a Syrian base last year.
Donald Trump said British and French military forces had joined the campaign in response to the "evil and despicable crimes of a monster".
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Following the strikes, Brits living and holidaying in Cyprus were on high alert amid fears of a Russian retaliation.
A defence source said: “We are confident the Russians won’t try to attack but we do have a contingency plan to get people out.”
But one Brit resident said: “I know we are being told the Russians won’t strike but I don’t trust them.”
Russia’s US envoy Anatoly Antonov has warned the Allied bombing raids “will not be left without consequences”.
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