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  4. View from the cockpit with Kyriakos Michael

View from the cockpit with Kyriakos Michael, Hangar Operations Manager, EDT Hangar Services

Release date:
March 2020
View from the cockpit with Kyriakos Michael
Amanda Jones joins Kyriakos Michael to find out how he went from being a professional football coach to managing EDT’s hangar and handling services in Cyprus 

 

It doesn’t take long before the conversation with Kyriakos Michael, Hangar Operations Manager at EDT Hangar Services turns to football.

 

 

“I’ve always loved football as a game. So early in my career when I had time to spare I trained as a football coach. I’m actually a UEFA A licenced coach, so can coach youth teams up to the age of 18 and also professional teams…”

 

It's a very different scenario now. Michael’s working world currently revolves around overseeing operations at EDT’s hangar in Paphos, Cyprus. The airport is a 24/7 facility, which means that Michael and his team offer a round-the-clock service. “Myself and my team are always on call so I do have a bed here just in case,” he says laughing. 

 

With an academic background in economics, Michael reveals that it wasn’t his intention initially to pursue a career in aviation. “I just thought I’d see what the industry was about and spend three months working in it. But a few months has ended up being 21 years and counting,” he says. “I started out as a handling agent for a local airport handling agent, before working as a rostering officer for Eurocypria and then rostering Manager for Strategic Airlines. I joined EDT Offshore in 2013 as a Heliport Manager based in Limassol.” 

 

 

About five months after joining EDT in September 2013 Michael was relocated to Paphos and is tasked with co-ordinating operations at the company’s new hangar facility.

 

 

“When I first started in Paphos I was working alone with our company’s pilots. Here I have a team of four full-time staff working with me, which is reflective of the hectic nature of the job.. Currently we have nine aircraft in the hangar, but it varies from day to day and our clients come from all around the world,” Michael tells me. 

 

 

The 16,000ft2 hangar facility which offers aircraft valeting and servicing is well equipped with a Ground Power Unit (GPU), Oxygen/ Nitrogen supply and tow-bar-less tug. It can accommodate jets as large as the Gulfstream 650 or the Global 6000. 


In addition to offering the only hangar dedicated to catering for general aviation clients in Cyprus, EDT Hangar Services also offers handling services. Although all EDT’s passengers have to be processed through the airport’s main terminal, private aviation customers do receive priority treatment. EDT’s facility also boasts a VIP lounge overlooking the hangar floor as well as crew briefing and rest rooms, bathrooms and catering facilities. It also offers a concierge team to greet and assist customers with any special requirements from customs and immigration assistance to onward bookings and hotel reservations. 

 

 

“We take great pride in the service we offer and customers repeatedly tell us that they enjoy feeling at home in our facility,” offers Michael. “We haven’t lost a single client since 2013,” he continues adding the company has built a solid reputation in offering a reliable, professional and discreet service. “To be able to offer such a service we rely on partners who operate on the same ethos. Air BP’s team in Paphos are, in my opinion, the most professional team at the airport. Their fuelling equipment is always in great condition and the team are friendly, professional and trustworthy. No task is ever too big or too small and it’s evident that their priority is on providing a safe, reliable and efficient fuel supply. It’s a partnership I really value and Air BP is a brand I’m always happy to recommend to our clients.”

 

Honesty, reliability and compassion are all qualities that Michael not only values but also displays himself in equal measures. “I care equally about the team working alongside me and their wellbeing as I do for our customers,” he enthuses. “It’s a responsibility I take seriously. ‘No’ is a word rarely used in our vocabulary at EDT. Our goal on a daily basis is to continue to upgrade our services and to give the best of the best.”

 

His reward for working tirelessly to deliver crew and customer satisfaction? “It’s simple. The feedback from our clients is what motivates me. When I see my clients happy, I’m happy, the team is happy. And my philosophy is a team above all!”

 

 

To read more exclusive interviews, please click here.