A decade old dispute over the control of Cyprus airspace has again come into the limelight because of increasing safety risks. The Greek Cypriot head of Nicosia air traffic chief Haris Antoniades, says that there have been near misses and that the number of incidents is growing. Due to the expansion of air traffic, he said his staff was working overtime to maintain safety in the area. The number of flight "incidents" was on the rise -- up from 390 in 2006 to 458 last year.

"The only way to overcome the problems mentioned is cooperation," Turkish Cypriot civil aviation chief Hasan Topaloglu told AFP.