Larnaca airport to face terror mock attacks

Guns will be drawn and shots fired at Larnaca International Airport on Friday as part of an emergency drill, with police warning the public not to be alarmed if they see Israeli security guards running around the terminal.

According to police, an emergency anti-terror drill will take place at Larnaca airport on Friday, November 9, at 1am.

During the exercise, Israeli airline security guards will join Civil Aviation, Customs, and Hermes Airports personnel to carry out a series of exercises in three separate terror-related scenarios.

Two drills will take place at the check-in area while the third part of the exercise will unfold at the terminal past the security point.

Police say there will be shots fired with blank cartridges while realistic gun replicas will also be used during the overall exercise, which is estimated to last about two hours.

No flights are scheduled to arrive or depart during the emergency drill. Authorities also said the runway will be shut down as well but cited scheduled maintenance work.

The private security company ICTS will also take part in the exercise, which is organized by the airport administration department of Cyprus Police.

Anti-terror drills in Israel and other parts of the world have been important in the past in helping authorities identify weak spots and close loopholes in their airport security apparatus.