Half of passengers refused to fly to Cyprus after mid-air incident

About half of the passengers on an Aegean Airlines flight that was turned back over Cyprus refused to re-board for the island, fearing an escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.

The morning flight from Athens to Larnaca was already preparing for landing when a military incident occurred in Cyprus's airspace, leading to the scrambling of Greek F-16 fighter jets stationed on the island.

The aircraft remained in a holding pattern for about 15 minutes before the pilot was instructed to return to Athens. The plane landed at Eleftherios Venizelos Airport at approximately 10:50 AM.

About an hour later, a new flight to Cyprus was organized, but only half of the original passengers boarded—the rest decided to stay in Greece, fearing potential attacks on the island amid the escalating conflict.

One passenger shared that the pilot had already announced the landing when the plane suddenly began to circle. Later, the crew reported a military incident and the need to wait for landing clearance.

Other passengers admitted that following the event, they considered Cyprus an unsafe destination and decided not to continue their journey.