Fewer flights in Cyprus. Tourists from Poland dropped by 12.5%.

Cyprus was among only eight European Union countries to record fewer commercial flights in August than a year earlier. Traffic fell by 3%, while the EU as a whole saw a 2.3% increase. The situation was completely different in Poland, where the number of flights increased by 7.8%.

A weaker August was also reflected in tourism. 36,622 visitors from Poland arrived on the island – 12.5% fewer than a year ago. Despite this, Poland remained the third most important tourist market for Cyprus, behind only the United Kingdom and Israel.

Cyprus is one of the exceptions in the European Union

In August, 708,980 commercial flights operated within the European Union. This was 2.3 percent more than during the same month in 2025 and 5.7 percent more than two years earlier.

However, the increase did not reach all countries. Cyprus was among the group of eight countries where the number of flights decreased.

Only Austria recorded a worse result, with air traffic shrinking by 4.7 percent. Cyprus saw 11,246 flights, down 3 percent from the previous year. The third largest decline occurred in Germany, down 2.4 percent.

Slovakia saw the strongest growth, up 37 percent. Next in line were Malta, with a 12.4 percent increase, and Estonia, which rose 8.3 percent.

Poland in the opposite direction

In Poland, Eurostat recorded 50,660 commercial flights in August, a 7.8% increase compared to August 2025.

The two previous summer months were similar. In June, the number of flights in Poland increased by 9.5%, and in July by 9.1%. A total of 149,189 flights were operated between June and August – approximately 8.8% more than a year earlier.

During the same period, 31,471 flights were operated in Cyprus. When June, July, and August figures are taken into account, traffic was approximately 2.6 percent lower than in the summer of 2025.

This does not mean, however, that the number of connections between Poland and Cyprus increased by 7.8%. Eurostat data covers all commercial flights reported by individual countries, not one specific route.

Tourists from Poland are still in third place

The Cyprus Statistical Office reported that 581,880 tourists arrived on the island in August, up from 602,026 a year earlier, a 3.3% difference.

The Polish market weakened more markedly. The number of arrivals from Poland decreased from 41,844 to 36,622. This is 5,222 fewer visits than in August of last year.

An even greater difference is visible compared to 2024, when 42,650 arrivals from Poland were recorded. This year's figure was approximately 14.1% lower.

Despite a weaker month, Poland accounted for 6.3% of all tourist traffic and remained the third-largest market. Only the United Kingdom and Israel saw more visitors.

In Cystat statistics, the country is defined by the traveler's usual place of residence, not their citizenship. The data also refers to the number of visits, not the number of unique visitors. A single tourist may be counted multiple times if they made more than one trip during the period under review.

Britain weakens, Israel grows strongly

The largest number of tourists came from Great Britain – 177,603. They constituted 30.5% of all August visitors, but their number was 8% lower than a year ago.

Israel welcomed 135,628 tourists, or 23.3% of the total market. This represents a 28.4% increase compared to August 2025 and a whopping 83.2% increase compared to August 2024.

Israel's performance was partially offset by weaker traffic from other countries. Visitor numbers from France fell by 46%, from Romania by 16.3%, from the Netherlands by 17.5%, and from Austria by 13%.

From January to August, Cyprus welcomed 2,820,649 tourists. This is 7 percent less than during the same period in the record-breaking year of 2025. However, the difference is gradually decreasing – after June it was 10.1 percent, after July 8 percent, and after August 7 percent.

Cypriots are happy to travel to Poland

The Cystat announcement also includes travel information for people living in Cyprus.

In August, 239,337 islanders returned from abroad. Poland was also among the most frequently visited countries.

10,408 people returned from Poland, representing 4.3% of all foreign trips by residents. Poland ranked fourth in this respect, behind Greece, the United Kingdom, and Italy, and ahead of Russia.

This does not mean that all these people were Polish. The statistics include residents of Cyprus regardless of their citizenship.

Airports still below last year's result

Larnaca and Paphos airports served 1.77 million passengers in August. This was the best monthly result in 2026, but still 1.5% lower than in August 2025.

From January to the end of August, 8.82 million passengers passed through both airports. This is 3.3% less than a year earlier, but 7.9% more than during the same period in 2024.

Hermes Airports forecasts that passenger numbers at the end of 2026 could be 3 to 5 percent lower than in the record year of 2025, unless further geopolitical disruptions occur.

August results show two distinct trends. European and Polish air traffic is growing, while Cyprus continues to recover from a weaker spring. At the same time, Poland, despite lower arrivals, remains one of the most important markets for Cypriot tourism.

Sources: Eurostat, Cyprus Statistics Authority, Hermes Airports, Cyprus Mail