LONDON, 02 March. - (ANA) - EasyJet cancelled flights to Cyprus after an RAF base was attacked in an overnight drone strike.

 

An Iranian Shahed one-way attack drone hit RAF Akrotiri at midnight local time (10pm GMT), according to Nikos Christodoulides, the Cypriot president.

 

Two more drones heading towards the base were intercepted at lunchtime on Monday, after Sir Keir Starmer said British military sites could be used to strike Iran.

 

Paphos airport was evacuated and nearby airspace was closed in response to the escalation.

 

Sources told the Cyprus Mail that all EasyJet flights connecting Cyprus to the UK would be cancelled until Thursday.

 

Before the midnight strike, British servicemen received an alert warning of a “security threat”, urging them to take cover as explosions rang out in the Limassol area where the base is located.

 

There were no casualties, but the Ministry of Defence moved service members’ families away from the base.

 

Sirens sounded again and servicemen received another alert for the midday attacks before aircraft were seen taking off from the base.

 

Sir Keir, the Prime Minister, has not authorised British troops to join the US-Israeli offensive, despite saying he supported destroying Iranian attack capabilities “at source”.

 

British bases will be used for “specific and limited defensive purposes” at the request of the US, he said.

 

Britain had previously refused the US permission to use bases such as RAF Fairford and the British-owned base at Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands, citing international law.

 

But the attack on RAF Akrotiri adds to the pressure Sir Keir faces to join the strikes, and raises the prospect of Britain being further drawn into the war.

 

Shahed drones are a type of kamikaze drone that functions like a guided missile, and is designed to hit specific targets. They have become known for their effectiveness in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

 

Mr Christodoulides said the authorities were on full alert, but stressed that Cyprus was not involved in any military activity in the region.

 

An RAF Voyager refuelling and transport aircraft was seen circling southern Cyprus after the drone strike on Sunday, according to live flight data, in what appeared to be part of the military response.

 

The Airbus KC2 Voyager, one of the RAF’s main air-to-air refuelling tankers, took off from Akrotiri at 12.46am local time (10.46pm GMT).

 

Additional defensive assets, including radar systems, counter-drone technology, F-35 Lightning II aircraft and ground-based air defence capabilities, were recently moved to British bases in the region.

 

On Monday morning, Tehran continued to strike allies across the Middle East with missiles and drones.

 

In a video posted on X on Sunday night, Sir Keir said: “The United States has requested permission to use British bases for specific and limited defensive purpose.

 

“We have taken the decision to accept that request, to prevent Iran firing missiles across the region, killing civilians, putting British lives at risk and hitting countries that have not been involved.”

 

Britain’s initial refusal to let the US use its bases led Donald Trump to withdraw his support for Sir Keir’s deal to hand the islands to Mauritius.

 

Yvette Cooper, the Foreign Secretary, said on Monday it was “not in the UK’s interests” to join Mr Trump’s strikes on Iran over the weekend.

 

She also declined to say whether the US had acted in line with international law, adding: “We don’t routinely comment on the actions of allies.

 

“They have to set out their own assessment around the international law of their own actions and the reasons for their action as well, the purposes for it.”

 

Some reports suggested Sunday’s suspected strike might have originated in Lebanon. If this is the case, it is likely to have been orchestrated by Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy group.

 

Hezbollah fired a barrage of missiles at Israel overnight, Israeli security officials said. The strikes, which marked the terrorist group’s formal entry into the war, were in retaliation for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader.

 

RAF Akrotiri forms part of British Forces Cyprus, one of two British Sovereign Base Areas retained after Cypriot independence in 1960. Located near Limassol on Cyprus’s southern coast, it is in a strategically significant position, near the Middle East.

 

It plays a central role in British military activity across the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean, supporting air operations, intelligence missions, humanitarian deployments and coalition activity.

 

Front line RAF units, including Typhoon fast jets, transport aircraft, aerial refuelling tankers and surveillance platforms are based there, with more than 4,000 serving personnel and their families.

 

Although there is no permanent US base at Akrotiri, American aircraft have operated there with British approval.

 

Earlier this year, a British man was arrested in Cyprus on suspicion of spying at RAF Akrotiri on behalf of Iran.

 

He was detained in June on suspicion of espionage and terrorism-related offences following what authorities described as a co-ordinated security operation.

 

Foreign intelligence services had reportedly raised concerns that he might have been planning an attack.

 

Local media described the arrested Briton as being of Azerbaijani descent and having links to Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).  

 

 

 

 

Cyprus's President Nikos Christodoulides said an Iranian drone had crashed into a British base on the Mediterranean island on Monday, as the Israeli-US war on Iran spreads across the region.

 

Minutes after midnight (2200 GMT), "a Shahed unmanned aerial vehicle crashed into the military facilities of the British Bases in Akrotiri, causing minor material damage", he said.

 

"We are in a region of particular geopolitical instability with many challenges and problems, which is going through an unprecedented crisis. Our homeland does not participate in any way and does not intend to be part of any military operation."

 

The statement came after the British defence ministry said British forces were responding to a suspected drone strike at its military base in Cyprus.

 

"Our force protection in the region is at the highest level and the base has responded to defend our people," a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said in a statement.  - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/03 March 2026 - - -