Flights Diverted To Paphos Airport - UPDATE

All flights coming into Larnaca Airport on Christmas Eve were diverted to Paphos International until 7am Christmas Day, said a spokeswoman at Larnaca Airport.

A technical problem shut down the runway lights, said Larnaca police at 7.40 pm, and at the time it was thought that the problem would last around four hours.

Neither the police nor airport staff knew why the problem occurred, they said, adding that technicians were  working furiously to fix the lights and restore normal operations.

Around 2,500 passengers were affected, and 22 flights were diverted, and the shutdown was due to a faulty circuit, said airport spokeswoman Androula Christodoulou the following day.