Newsroom
As temperatures climb and Limassol’s beaches fill up with swimmers, sunbeds and weekend crowds, a worrying gap is opening up along the coastline: there simply aren’t enough lifeguards on duty.
According to the head of Limassol’s lifeguard unit, Sakis Nikolaou, almost half of the district’s lifeguard towers are currently not staffed, a situation he warns is putting bathers at real risk, especially during peak summer days when the sea is at its busiest.
Out of 24 lifeguard stations across the district, only 13 are operational. The rest are either understaffed or completely inactive, mainly due to long-standing recruitment and pay issues.
The result is visible on the ground.
At Lady’s Mile, one of the most popular stretches of coastline in Cyprus, especially on weekends, only one lifeguard tower is currently operating along the five-kilometer beach. At Governor’s Beach in Pentakomo, there is no lifeguard coverage at all.
“This situation is unacceptable, and it puts human lives in danger,” Nikolaou said, adding that lifeguards are not asking for anything beyond fair staffing and basic working conditions.
The staffing shortage has been made more visible this week as lifeguards joined a 24-hour strike by hourly government employees, further highlighting long-running complaints over pay, contracts, and job security.
Nikolaou said lifeguards are calling for more permanent positions, the creation of longer seasonal contracts, and better pay and benefits to make the profession more attractive. He warned that without these changes, the shortages will continue every summer, right when demand is highest.
“Limassol is the heart of tourism. Safety at sea is not optional, it’s essential,” he said.
From the administration’s side, officials acknowledge the gap but say efforts are underway to recruit more staff.
Assistant District Administrator of Limassol, Nikolas Tsioullos, said the district was supposed to have 74 lifeguards in total, but currently only a small fraction are in permanent roles, with dozens of seasonal positions still empty.
He said repeated calls for applications have not attracted enough interest so far, despite ongoing recruitment drives. Authorities are now continuing to reopen applications in the hope of filling at least some of the gaps before peak summer weeks.
Tsioullos added that in urgent cases, flexibility has been introduced in the qualifications required for applicants, allowing more people to be considered in order to boost staffing levels.
At present, 11 lifeguards are in permanent posts, while 26 positions remain vacant across different contract types.
Officials are hoping that at least one additional tower in the Lady’s Mile area will become operational by early July.
For now, though, much of Limassol’s coastline is relying on a patchwork of coverage, just as thousands of residents and tourists head to the sea to escape the heat.
