A Paphos resident has voiced strong criticism over the lack of transport options at Paphos International Airport, where late-night arrivals are left with taxis as their only means of reaching the city.
In a social media post addressed to the Mayor of Paphos and the Department of Road Transport, Christos Erotokritou described the situation as unacceptable for a country that depends on tourism.
“It’s unthinkable,” he wrote, “that a tourist arriving late at night at Paphos Airport, exhausted after a long journey, should have no way to reach the city except by taxi.”
“How much please to take me to Paphos centre?”
Erotokritou said the only option the state offers visitors is “to find a taxi, with all that entails.”
He described a scene outside the airport’s arrivals exit: “Tourists are greeted by a table of taxi drivers from all directions, where their first words in Cyprus are: ‘How much please to take me to Paphos centre?’ The answer: ‘€70-75.’”
According to his account, this excessive fare leaves visitors shocked and disappointed. In one incident he witnessed, after he told the driver that the price was unreasonable, the driver reportedly replied: “Let him walk if he doesn’t like it.”
Call for immediate measures
Addressing the Mayor, Erotokritou said this is not the image a tourism destination should project, and that it is unacceptable for a European country in 2025, which invests millions in tourism, to lack night-time public transport from and to the airport, or at least a regulated and transparent taxi fare system for visitors.
He urged authorities to take immediate action by introducing alternative transport options, such as shuttle buses operating around the clock, and by setting fair, capped taxi prices, particularly on high-demand routes.
“If we truly want to stop appearing like a ‘third-world country’ in the eyes of our visitors, we must ensure dignified arrival conditions,” Erotokritou concluded, adding that “our tourists deserve better treatment, and so does the city of Paphos.”