May assures Cyprus that use of RAF base was limited

British Prime Minister Theresa May has assured President Nicos Anastasiades during a telephone conversation on Saturday that the use of British Bases for the attack on specific targets in Syria was limited, an official statement said

"The main purpose, in addition to informing the President about the air operation in Syria, was to assure that there is no question of any danger to Cyprus and that we need to feel safe," said the statement in Nicosia.
 
"During their conversation, the Prime Minister briefed Anastasiades on the dawn air operation and its targets, stating that the purpose of the operation was to send a strong message against the use of chemical weapons. Specifically, Ms. May explained that use of the British Bases was only limited," it added.
 
Four British Tornado jets took off from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on Saturday to join precision strikes against Syria, jointly taken on by the US, the UK and France.

The four jets, which did not enter Syrian airspace according to the BBC, fired their GPS-guided Storm Shadow missiles and then returned safely to their base.

Meanwhile, the Department of Cyprus Civil Aviation said: “With regard to military operations in Syria, we would like to report that these activities did not affect the safe and smooth management of air traffic”.

It stressed that “the situation in the Nicosia FIR was completely under control during the operations and the provision of services continued without interruptions and in a normal manner and no incidents occurred”.

Civil Aviation said it was monitoring the situation to ensure smooth, uninterrupted and safe air traffic flow in the Nicosia FIR.

“The military operations in Syria have not affected so far the flight schedule at the airports of Cyprus” said the airports' operator Hermes spokesman Adamos Aspris, on Twitter, noting that there have been no flight delays or cancellations.