After a nighttime drone attack there was another alarm at the British base in Akrotiri in Cyprus.Image: keystone
Mar 2, 2026, 1:17 p.mMar 2, 2026, 1:17 p.m
After a nighttime drone attack there was another alarm at the British base in Akrotiri in Cyprus.
Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letybiotis said two unmanned aerial vehicles that were heading towards the British bases were repelled in time.
The civilian airport of Paphos, further west, was evacuated, according to reports from Cyprus Radio. Flights to Paphos were diverted to the EU island republic’s main airport in Larnaca.
Further evacuations ordered
The Cypriot Civil Defense and the Interior Ministry ordered all residents of the villages located on the territory of the base to leave their homes and go to the nearby port city of Limassol. Cypriot television showed images of the evacuation.
The US embassy warns
The United States Embassy called on its citizens to avoid Paphos airport and military installations. «There is information about a possible drone threat to the Paphos region. Please only come to the embassy in an emergency,” said the US mission in the island’s capital Nicosia.
Drone attack at night
The alarm follows a nighttime incident: Shortly after midnight, the runway of the British base was hit by a “Shahed” drone, according to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulidis. There were no injuries; However, there was “minor damage,” as the governments in Nicosia and London announced. Authorities in both countries are now trying to determine the launch location of the drone.
Strategically important location
The Akrotiri base is located west of the port city of Limassol and serves as a strategically important location for Great Britain in the eastern Mediterranean. The United Kingdom says it is taking part in a defensive military operation against Iran in the Middle East. According to Defense Secretary John Healey, British aircraft shoot down drones and missiles when they detect them. The missions start in Bahrain and Cyprus, among others. (sda/dpa)