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Turbulence in Occupied Areas: Why Turkish F-16s Frequent Nicosia?

Erhan Arikli dismisses concerns over Turkish F-16 flights near occupied Cyprus, calling them routine patrols and warns against underestimating Turkey’s swift response to southern military moves.

Stefanos Banos Staff Writer

MAY 4, 2026 AT 3:17 PM Updated: May 19, 2026 3:55 AM

“There is no danger,” assured the “Minister of Transport” and chairman of the board of the settlers, Erhan Arıklı, while simultaneously noting that “we will not remain silent as long as southern Cyprus shows strength.” This was his response regarding citizens’ posts on social media about low flights of Turkish combat aircraft over occupied Nicosia and Kyrenia.

Mr. Arıklı, in a television appearance on Kanal T, stated that the Turkish F-16s stationed at the illegal Tymbou (Ercan) airport “do not represent a symbolic deployment for the protection of the ‘blue homeland.’ Turkey reacts immediately to the military actions of southern Cyprus.”

According to information from reliable sources of the Republic of Cyprus, these are routine flights conducted by the Turkish fighter jets, which have been stationed for several weeks at the illegal Tymbou airport, and not any extraordinary activity.

Source: CYΠΕ (Cyprus News Agency)

Stefanos Banos

Stefanos Banos was born in Piraeus and is an editor at NewsFire.GR, specializing in political analysis and international relations. He graduated from the Department of Communication and Media at the University of Bremen in Germany, where he also completed his Master of Arts in Communication and Media Studies. Married to Zoi, he is a proud father of three boys.