The storm is disrupting flights to Paphos. Planes circled over the sea.

During the deteriorating weather in the Paphos area, aircraft awaiting arrival performed additional maneuvers over the sea. Screenshots from Flightradar24 provided to the editorial team show the loops of Jet2 flights from Bristol and TUI flights from Glasgow. The first of these, LS1869, landed at 3:15 PM, half an hour after its scheduled time, according to Hermes Airports' dashboard.

An orange warning for severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, gusty winds, and possible hail is in effect from 3:00 PM on Wednesday, October 14. There is no confirmation of Paphos Airport closure. Available information indicates that some flights are landing despite the disruption.

The plane from Bristol circled before landing

A screenshot from Flightradar24 taken around 3 p.m. shows a Jet2 plane operating the flight LS1869 Bristol to Paphos. Its track record shows several loops over the sea southwest of the airport.

According to the official Hermes Airports arrivals board, the flight was scheduled to arrive in Paphos at 2:45 p.m. It was eventually given an arrival status of 15:15.

This means a half-hour delay from the scheduled time. The board itself doesn't provide a reason for the delay, but the screenshot documents the additional maneuvers performed before arrival.

TUI from Glasgow flew east

The second screenshot, taken at approximately 2:59 p.m., shows the cruise TUI Airways BY1352 from Glasgow to Paphos.

The map shows loops near the western coast and a further flight eastward toward the Larnaca area. At the time of the drop, the aircraft was over the sea south of the eastern part of the island.

We do not yet have confirmation of its final landing location. The route itself is not enough to declare the diversion to Larnaca completed.

Arrivals to Paphos

Additional maneuvers over the sea

Paphos Airport is still accepting flights

The disruptions are specific to individual flights and may vary depending on the weather. The official board also noted other afternoon arrivals, including a flight from Norwich at 2:30 PM.

Therefore, there is no basis for reporting a complete suspension of landings. We also do not know the full number of aircraft whose flight paths were changed due to weather conditions.

Passengers and people picking up loved ones should check specific flight number, because the situation of one aircraft does not determine the status of the remaining connections.

Orange alert until Thursday morning

The weather warning is valid from 3:00 PM on Wednesday, October 14th, to 5:00 AM on Thursday, October 15th, local time in Cyprus.

During storms, rainfall of up to 55–70 millimeters per hour, strong wind gusts, and possible hail. Conditions may vary between different parts of the island.

About weather warnings and threats we wrote earlier in CyprNews.

Check the announcements before going to the terminal

Passengers departing from Paphos should refer to their airline's check-in and arrival information. A delay in arriving flights alone does not constitute confirmation of a change in these times.

When picking up passengers, it's important to confirm that the flight actually landed and at which airport. Don't change your pick-up location solely based on the direction shown on the flight tracking map.

The current forecast can be checked on the website Weather in CyprusIt's worth checking the status of a specific connection again immediately before departure.

Sources: Hermes Airports, Flightradar24, Cyprus Meteorological Service.