The plane with medical supplies from China arrived in Cyprus after a long delay | Photos

Defence Redefined

Published on 14/05/2020 at 10:11

A plane carrying medical supplies from China arrived in Cyprus last night, after a delay of about ten hours.

The plane, which was scheduled to arrive in Cyprus at noon, was forced to change course and head for Moscow, as Turkey did not allow the pilot to cross over its airspace.

In a post on Social Media around 10.30 last night, the Minister of Transport, Communications and Works, Giannis Karousos, stated that “another 36 tons of medical supplies, supplies and consumables for the fight against coronavirus, have recently arrived in Cyprus from China.”

The minister described the flight as “adventurous” as “Turkish authorities did not allow the plane to pass through Turkish airspace. Thus, the pilots were forced to change course and head towards Moscow, where they landed for refueling, crew change and started with a new route to Cyprus”.

Mr. Karousos gave “warm congratulations to the service of the Ministry for the organization of this chartered flight, as well as to all the involved bodies that helped in its implementation”.

As the Minister of Transport stated to CNA yesterday, “the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus has been informed about the incident in order to take the necessary steps where necessary.”

36 τόνοι ιατρικού υλικού για τον κορωνοϊό έφτασαν πριν λίγο Κύπρο από Κίνα. Μια περιπετειώδης πτήση, αφού οι τούρκικες αρχές δεν επέτρεψαν στο αεροπλάνο να περάσει από τον εναέριο χώρο της Τουρκίας. Συγχαρητήρια σε όλους για την επιτυχή έκβαση της πτήσης. @MinHealthCY #karousos pic.twitter.com/zhptX6YX17

— Yiannis Karousos (@yianniskarousos) May 13, 2020