Bullet-ridden airport ‘frozen in time’ inside Europe’s last no-man’s land

An abandoned airport located in Europe's last no-man's land appears frozen in time.

The site near Nicosia, Cyprus, looks more like a post-apocalyptic world than the once-bustling place of business it used to be. Rusty planes have left to stand on the tarmac while the interior of the airport devolved into disrepair.

With bullet holes peppering the walls and seats, the airport is now a shell of its former self. The ghostly building used to be a central part of the city.

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A massive Cyprus Airways Trident plane is believed to have been the final flight to land at the airport. It now sits covered in rust.

Though the airport was mainly used by the military after it was built in the 1930s, the place once bustled with activity. Another high-tech terminal was opened up in 1968 to make way for up to 800 travellers at a time.

Thousands fled the area in 1974 after Turkish forces staged an invasion of Cyprus. A partition of the island soon followed, and it led to the eventual abandonment of the airport.

Nicosia airport remained open until a bombing run left the place heavily damaged, with the UN Security Council eventually intervening. Officials declared it a Protected Area, with a final flight sent out in 1977.

Not a single plane has touched down or left Nicosia airport since the Nicosia to London flight that year. Even then, the flight was only allowed to jet off under special authorisation from the UN.

Tours of the abandoned airport occurred recently, with Prince Harry's former Army regiment allowing photographs to be taken. It remains in an area classed as a buffer zone.

Local authorities opened up a new international airport in Larnaca, which has since become the main travel hub for the island. An abandoned 118-mile stretch of land still divides the north and south of Cyprus.

Within the stretch with the airport are also hotels and schools, which are now filled with chilling reminders of the bloody war.

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