1. “ERCAN” (TYMBOU) is a closed airport situated in the occupied part of the Republic of Cyprus, which the Government of Cyprus, as the sole legitimate and internationally recognized authority on the island, has declared since 1974 as an illegal point of entry into and exit from the Republic of Cyprus, for the reason of not being able to exercise control over the occupied part of its territory, as a result of the continuing Turkish military occupation. Under International law the Republic of Cyprus is the sole sovereign authority with exclusive jurisdiction to determine which of its airports on its territory are open and functioning, as well as the terms of their operation.
3. The so-called “ERCAN” airport is not recognized by ICAO, which is the highest international authority on legal issues relating to civil aviation in general. ICAO’s policy on matters relating to Cyprus is in conformity with that of the United Nations and the international community. Consequently, ICAO recognizes only the Republic of Cyprus and its Government as the sole representative of the whole island. It should also be stressed that according to ICAO decisions of 1974, 1975 and 1977, a country not exercising temporarily effective control over its territory by reason of military occupation, does not lose its sovereign rights over such territory and the airspace above it.
4. Furthermore, Turkey, in violation of the Chicago Convention on the International Civil Aviation, the constitutional instrument of ICAO, and its Annexes, to which 188 countries, including the Republic of Cyprus and Turkey, are States-Parties to and following a number of illegal acts after the Turkish invasion, proclaimed the establishment of “Ercan advisory service” which lies in the northern part of Nicosia FIR. The illegal operation of the unrecognized “ERCAN advisory service” causes serious risks over safety, flight efficiency and airspace development in the region and in particular increased workload and inconvenience both for aircrews and Nicosia ACC Controllers and leads to misunderstandings due to the intervention in the provision of Air Traffic Control Services. Ankara ACC should be called upon to adopt standard ICAO procedures and transfer southbound traffic to the contiguous Nicosia control and to take practical steps for the restoration of the voice link between Ankara and Nicosia ACC's.
5. Any possible use by international traffic, of the illegally operating airports, such as “ERCAN” (TYMPOU), violates International law, U.N. Security Council resolutions, E.U. positions and contravenes the ICAO and the EUROCONTROL Conventions, and their respective norms, standards, procedures and recommended practices.
http://www.mfa.gov.cy/mfa/Embassies/Emb ... ment&print
This is a Notice to All Airmen (NOTAM) issued to ALL aircraft flying through NICOSIA FIR:
The authority of Ercan Control over this zone for Air Traffic Control purposes is NOT recognized by ICAO.
Contrary to ICAO requirements, no contact is effected between Ankara and Nicosia ACCs. Nicosia ACC requires that aircraft approaching Nicosia FIR/UIR from Ankara FIR make pre-entry contact at least 10 minutes before the FIR boundary. It is essential that crews comply with this
requirement: only then will Nicosia ACC be in a position to assume control and provide appropriate traffic separation.
http://www.jeppesen.com/download/briefbull/fra99-a.pdf
The NOTAM was issued by Jeppesen 12 May 99 and has been active ever since.
Jeppesen is an aviation briefing, flight planning, charting, navigation and Flight Management System Data Base service provider. It is owned by Boeing making it the largest Aviation company in the world!
http://www.jeppesen.com/index.jsp
If you visit any Professional Pilot Forums such as PPRUNE and run a search on ERCAN Control, you will find threads where Airline Pilots are discussing the airspace arrangements over occupied Cyprus and the safety implications that are caused in this illegal volume of airspace. They refer to ERCAN control as "CHAOS CORNER", and if you value your life I urge you to avoid any company that utilizes this airspace without contacting the ICAO recognized authority known as NICOSIA Control.
To be a Contract State of ICAO, you must be a legitimate country. You must be recognized by the United Nations
ERCAN airport is not a recognized Airport. The airspace above Ercan belongs legitimately to The Nicosia FIR.
ERCAN does not exist on International Navigation Charts.
The second image also denotes the Boundary of Nicosia FIR with red arrows. ANY FLIGHTS ENTERING NICOSIA FIR FROM TURKEY ARE ILLEGAL UNDER THE CHICAGO CONVENTION. There will never be direct flights.
Pay particular notice to WAYPOINTS VESAR, TOMBI, and DOREN. They are located north of Cyprus and are compulsory reporting points for all aircraft, which mans they need to contact NICOSIA ACC since this is the legitimate authority charged with the responsibility of providing traffic separation and sequencing into ROC airspace!
