Mackenzie Beach at Larnaca Airport

Updated: October 2026 – There are spots you travel to specially, and there are spots where you simply spend your vacation. Mackenzie Beach in Larnaca belongs to the second kind. The city beach lies so close in front of the start of the airport’s runway that landing aircraft pass over the coast just before touchdown – while around you people swim, drink coffee or doze on a lounger.

This page shows you where to stand best on the beach, why the light is right in the afternoon, which airlines you see in Larnaca and what you’d better leave alone at the fence.

Cyprus’s biggest airport, right on the coast

Larnaca Airport lies a few kilometers southwest of the town, squeezed between the Larnaca Salt Lake and the bay. It is the biggest airport of the Republic of Cyprus; the second international airport is Paphos Airport in the west of the island. Both are operated under a concession by Hermes Airports.

Its history is closely tied to the more recent history of the island: after Nicosia Airport was closed in 1974 in the Cyprus conflict, a makeshift airport first arose near Larnaca on the grounds of an old British military airfield. The current terminal went into service in November 2009. Officially the airport carries the name of the former president Glafkos Clerides.

For spotters one number matters most: there is only one runway, 04/22, just under 3,000 meters long and 45 meters wide. Its northeast end reaches almost to the coast, and exactly there Mackenzie Beach begins.

The figures for 2025 show how strongly Larnaca has grown: with just under 9.9 million passengers the airport was well above its pre-pandemic level. Converting the roughly 64,000 movements to the year gives an average of about 175 takeoffs and landings per day. In summer it is considerably more, in winter fewer – and traffic comes in waves.

Runway direction: why 22 is almost always in use

Larnaca is a gift for spotters because the runway direction is very stable. Spotter guides state that about 95 percent of the time operations are on 22. That means: the aircraft come in from the northeast over the Bay of Larnaca, cross the coast at Mackenzie Beach and touch down just beyond it. Takeoffs also go toward the southwest, that is, away from the start of the runway at the beach toward the salt lake.

Configuration	What you see at Mackenzie Beach	How often	Recommendation
Landings and takeoffs on 22	Approaches over the sea, takeoffs at the start of the runway	the rule	Beach is the first choice
Landings and takeoffs on 04	Departures climbing over the coast	rare	Spot works to a limited extent, backup points in the southwest
Change during the day	Mix of both	occasionally	Keep an eye on the flight tracker

If operations are on 04 for once, the aircraft come in from the southwest, and at the beach you only see departures climbing over the coast. Then a spot at the other end of the runway in the hinterland toward Kiti is more worthwhile. How to interpret wind and runway direction before you set off is covered in the guide Understanding runway direction at airports; tools for it are shown in the article on Windy and other weather maps.

Light and photography

The approach path lies over the sea east and northeast of the beach. In the morning the sun is therefore behind the approaching aircraft, and you shoot into the backlight. From early afternoon the situation flips: the sun moves west, and until sunset the light falls on the side of the aircraft facing you. That is the time window you should come for in the summer half-year.

In the morning the beach is not useless anyway. On the waterfront path toward the fence you then see the aircraft at the holding point of 22 and the takeoffs, with the sun more at your back. In winter the sun is so low and so far south that hardly any good light reaches the approach side – then Mackenzie Beach is more a place for atmosphere than for clean type photos.

For focal length you can relax. A telephoto zoom up to about 300 mm covers approaches from the beach well; for the café terraces farther north a bit more is welcome. Because the aircraft come over open water, you have no fence and no poles in the frame. For scenes with swimmers, boats and aircraft, a standard zoom or the smartphone is often enough. Which lenses suit in general is compared in the article Lenses and focal lengths for plane spotting.

The biggest problem in high summer is the air. Over the warm water and the asphalt, haze forms, and pictures of more distant aircraft turn flat. Concentrate then on aircraft on short final and read the tips in the article Avoiding heat haze.

The photo spots at a glance

South end of the beach: The classic is the southwestern end of Mackenzie Beach, close to the airport fence. Here you stand closest to the approach line; the aircraft come toward you over the water and then pass over the coast. This is the place for the typical pictures with aircraft, sea and beach.

Bars and café terraces: On Piale Pasa lie beach bars and cafés with terraces facing the sea. Here the angle is flatter and the distance greater, but you sit in the shade and have a restroom and drinks nearby. Especially in summer this is the most sensible way to spend a whole afternoon at the approach.

Waterfront path at the fence: A path leads along the fence toward the start of the runway. From there you see the aircraft at the holding point and the beginning of the takeoff roll on 22. According to reports from the spotter scene, a stop sign stands there that you may not go beyond; the police justify this among other things with the jet blast. Depending on the water level, part of the path is wet.

Hotels on the coast: If you stay in Larnaca, you can pick a front-row hotel in the Mackenzie district. From balconies on higher floors you have the approaches right in front of you – handy for a few pictures before breakfast or at sunset.

Terminal: After security the window fronts offer a view of the apron. If you are flying back from Larnaca, you use the last hour this way for registrations at the gate.

What you will see in Larnaca

Larnaca is not a big hub but a leisure and regional airport with a surprisingly colorful mix. European low-cost and leisure airlines meet airlines from the Middle East here, plus two carriers that use Larnaca as their home base.

• Local and Greek airlines: Cyprus Airways has its home airport at Larnaca. The current company is a new foundation that began flight operations in 2017 and is not identical to the historic Cyprus Airways, which ceased operations in 2015. In its fleet you find, among others, the Airbus A220-300. Aegean Airlines maintains a base at Larnaca and flies from here to Greece, other European countries and the Middle East.
• Low-cost carriers: Wizz Air is strongly represented in Larnaca, plus Ryanair, easyJet and Jet2. That makes for lots of narrowbody jets like the Airbus A320neo, the A321neo and the Boeing 737-800.
• From German-speaking countries: There are connections from Berlin, Vienna and Zurich, among others, and in summer more leisure airlines join in. From Switzerland, for example, Edelweiss Air flies from Zurich to Larnaca.
• Middle East: Because of the short distances, airlines from Israel, Jordan and the Gulf fly to Larnaca. Sources name, for example, Israir, Royal Jordanian and Gulf Air. Especially short is the hop to Tel Aviv Airport on the other side of the eastern Mediterranean.
• Special: According to spotter guides there is weekly freight and military traffic all year. State guests, part of private aviation and freight are handled via a separate VIP area.

Which routes and types exactly fly changes with every schedule period and depends strongly on the situation in the Middle East. So check the current schedule before your visit. If you want to identify narrowbody jets with confidence, the article Telling the A318, A319, A320 and A321 apart helps.

Getting there: taxi, bus and on foot

Mackenzie Beach lies between the town and the airport, and distances are short. From the terminal you are at the beach in a few minutes by taxi. By bus you ride to the center: travel guides name city bus line 425, which runs about every 20 minutes during the day between the airport and downtown. From the Finikoudes promenade you walk along the coast south to the beach – a pleasant walk, but in high summer better in the late afternoon.

With a rental car you drive along the Piale Pasa coastal road to the southern end and look for parking there. In high season it is crowded around the beach bars, so allow some time and don’t park in driveways.

If you stay in Larnaca, it is best to stay in the Mackenzie district or near the promenade. Then you can spontaneously go to the beach depending on light and schedule. General tips on choosing between bus and car are collected in the article Getting to the spot.

How a good afternoon at Mackenzie Beach goes

How to get through the heat at the beach well is shown in the article Plane spotting in summer. And if you want to combine spotting and a family vacation, you will find more ideas in the guide Plane spotting on vacation.

Rules at the beach and the fence

Mackenzie Beach is a public beach, and spotters are a familiar sight here. To keep it that way, a few simple rules apply. Accounts of the police vary – some spotters experience the officers as thoroughly relaxed, others are sent back to the start of the fence. Stay friendly, follow announcements and don’t draw unnecessary attention.

Consideration toward the other beachgoers applies too. Don’t set up your tripod in the middle of the path, don’t photograph strangers swimming on purpose and take your trash with you. The bars are private businesses: if you sit on the terrace for hours, you order something too.

More Cyprus: salt lake and Paphos

If you are in Larnaca anyway, you can extend your spotting day well. Right next to the airport lies the Larnaca Salt Lake, a protected wetland with the Hala Sultan Tekke mosque on its shore. In the winter half-year flamingos overwinter there – a nice subject when the light at the beach doesn’t cooperate. In the west of the island, Paphos Airport offers more leisure traffic; there, however, the airport has a military section where you need to be especially restrained.

You find similar beach and vacation spots in the Mediterranean and beyond: at the runway end at Skiathos, in Kanoni on Corfu, at Ojos de Garza beach on Gran Canaria and of course at the famous Maho Beach on Sint Maarten, where the flyovers are still considerably lower.

Conclusion

Mackenzie Beach is not an extreme spot but one of the most pleasant beach spots in the eastern Mediterranean. Runway 22 is almost always in use, the approaches come over open water, and between two landings you jump in the sea or order a coffee. The traffic mix of Aegean, Cyprus Airways, low-cost and leisure airlines and airlines from the Middle East makes sure it doesn’t get boring.

You now know its limits: in the morning there is backlight, in winter the sun is missing on the approach side, and at the fence it ends early. If you come in the afternoon in the summer half-year and stick to the rules, you take clean approach pictures with sea and beach home from Larnaca – and a pretty good vacation day.