Cyprus extends deadline for Cyprus Airways purchase offers

The Cypriot government on Monday extended until Thursday the deadline for submitting non-binding offers for purchasing troubled Cypriot airline Cyprus Airways.

Among about 20 companies which have expressed interest in acquiring Cyprus Airways are low-cost airline Ryanair, Europe's largest budget airline, and Greece's Aegean Airlines.

The move was designed to give interested parties more time to submit their proposals.

A ministerial committee has already talked to most companies which have shown an interest in the airline.

A Ryanair official had said the company would submit a comprehensive proposal last Friday, promising to raise Cyprus's airways passengers to 3 million a year from its present annual number of 600,000.

Cyprus Airways, which has been making losses for several years, is currently under investigation by the European Commission for receiving 80 million euros in government subsidies, contrary to rules on free competition.

The airline is almost entirely owned by the Cypriot government.