Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has plans to authorise direct flights to North Cyprus.

In line with the rest of the international community, with the sole exception of Turkey, the UK does not recognise the self-declared "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" as an independent state, and Ercan airport in the north of Cyprus is not recognised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation as an international airport. As a result, we cannot negotiate an Air Services Agreement with the administration in the north of Cyprus, so there are no direct flights. The UK Court of Appeal has also confirmed that direct flights between the UK and the north of Cyprus would breach the UK's international obligations under the 1944 Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation. The UK Government remains convinced that a comprehensive settlement is the best chance of resolving these complex issues.