Frank and Joan's news for 10 November 2007 in Northern Cyprus

Frank and Joan's Adventures in Northern Cyprus

Our adventures in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continue....

FOR ALL OF YOU WHO ARE WAITING FOR E-MAIL RESPONSES. PLEASE BE PATIENT AS WE ARE HAVING HUGE PROBLEMS GETTING MAIL OUT. WE CAN RECEIVE BUT THERE SEEMS TO BE A SPAM BLOCK ON OUR SERVICE PROVIDERS ADDRESS WHICH IS CAUSING ALL SORTS OF PROBLEMS. THEY ARE PROMISING TO SORT A.S.A.P.

Very sad news in the paper this week. Dolphin one of the biggest removal companies to ship from UK to TRNC, lost one of their container ships on the trip over from the mainland to Famagusta. We have had some force 9 gales around the island and the vessel sank around midnight on Wednesday with the loss of the captain and his first mate. The ship was laden with containers, tractors, cars and machinery so I guess there are some ex-pats who have lost their household goods.

The government has been at it again. According to the paper, they have plundered 109 million YTL from the pension pot of civil servants. A member of an opposition party says he has documentary evidence and intends to make it public. This comes at the same time as the resignation of a presidential under-secretary who has given as some of his reasons for resigning as, that he believes that the government is trying to bankrupt the country and that he cannot cope with the level of corruption any more... that's refreshing from somebody so high up.

The South are at it again. Now they are handing out leaf

lets, as you cross the border from the South, suggesting that you risk arrest if you buy Greek owned property here in TRNC. The leaflets also repeat previous threats to arrest anyone found with documentation promoting the building or sale of property in the North, claiming that four-fifths of the land in the North belongs to Greek Cypriots. So once again the warning goes out. DON'T CARRY ANY DOCUMENTS WITH YOU. Don't give them the chance to raise the publicity level again. Remember this is all related to the up and coming Presidential elections in the South coming up in February.

A new hospital opened last Sunday in Gazi Magusa (Famagusta to you probably). This is a 120 bed hospital which will be fully functionial within the month, once equipment is moved from the old town centre hospital.

Another interesting article that appeared this week concerned Easy Jet and the possibility of direct flights to Cyprus, but don't hold your breath just yet.......

Until now, easyJet has avoided flights to south Cyprus, despite the Greek Cypriot origins of the airline's founder, Sir Stelios Hajiloannou. Late last year, the Greek Cyprus Tourism Organisation had been negotiating with easyJet and another low-cost carrier to bring more no-frills airlines to south Cyprus.

Low-cost carriers have been difficult to attract, due to the distance from the UK, as they usually operate within a three-hour time frame and Cyprus is some four and a half hours flying time from Britain.

A statement from easyJet said its acquisition of GB Airways was consistent with the airline's expansion strategy and strengthened its customer offering at Gatwick, the airline's biggest base. Following the acquisition for £103.5 million, easyJet will operate 24 per cent of Gatwick's slots and will fly approximately 8 million passengers across 62 routes from Gatwick.

GB Airways is primarily a London Gatwick based point-to-point airline operating to destinations across Southern Europe and North Africa under a franchise agreement with British Airways.

EasyJet said that by Winter 2008/09, GB Airways would be fully consolidated into the easyJet business model. Andy Harrison, Chief Executive of easyJet, said: "This is an acquisition which both strengthens our customer offering at London Gatwick, our biggest base with an attractive catchment area, and allows us to fully capitalise on the potential of the airport through a larger number of slots.

The deal will bring major benefits to both easyJet and GB Airways customers, delivering a wider choice of destinations at easyjet's great prices, and creating clear value for our shareholders."

© Copyright Cyprus Times 2007