US Air Force looks to upgrade Cyprus airbase as humanitarian staging post for the Middle East

FILE - In this image taken from video, a Greek Air Force F-16 aircraft lands at Cyprus' Andreas Papandreou Air Base near the southwestern coastal city of Paphos, Cyprus, Aug. 25, 2020.

Experts from the U.S. Air Force are looking at ways to upgrade Cyprus' premier air base for use as a humanitarian staging post in future operations in the Middle East, a Cypriot official told The Associated Press on Thursday.