INCREDIBLE PHOTOS showcase the haunting ruins of an abandoned airport in a popular vacation destination, where aircraft have been decaying on the runway for half a century.
The once-bustling transport hub Nicosia International Airport, Cyprus, now stands as a haunting relic – completely frozen in time.
Harrowing images show the abandoned terminal, decaying runways, and even aircraft that have been left untouched for decades.
Nicosia International Airport, initially established in the 1920s as a Royal Air Force base, was significant during World War II, functioning as an important stop for both military and civilian flights.
And by the 1950s and 1960s, it had become a major gateway for tourists, even attracting Hollywood celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor.
But in 1974, conflict between Greek and Turkish forces led to its destruction and, later, abandonment.
The airport was officially closed to commercial flights following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, leaving it to rot from there on.
In 1977, the final commercial flights departed from Nicosia Airport under the authorization of the United Nations, as British Airways engineers managed to rescue three stranded Cyprus Airways planes and flew them back to London.
Now the airport lies within a United Nations Protected Area and remains largely off-limits to the public.
But this hasn’t stopped urban explorers from visiting the site with its decayed grandeur and historical significance.
Ben, 31, who posts adventure content online, went to the airport alone to show its haunting remains.
He said: “I wanted to explore this for about three years.
“I decided to go and see it because, obviously, it’s a very interesting historical site.
“I’d seen pictures of it, and I wanted to see it in person.”
Ben described the site as a chilling time capsule, largely untouched since the 1970s.
He added: “The most amazing thing about it was it’s obviously been untouched since 1974.
“I’ve never explored an abandoned airport before, and the fact that it still had planes there was crazy.
“It was like a real-life time capsule. Hardly anybody ever gets to see it, and that’s just amazing.”
The haunting images serve as a stark reminder of Cyprus’s divided history, with the airport standing as a ghostly monument to a conflict that reshaped the island.
Despite its eerie silence, Nicosia International Airport remains a powerful symbol of the past.
