Civil Defence explains Cyprus CY-Alert test gaps after Monday alert

cyprus civil defence said some mobile phone users did not receive Monday’s nationwide CY-Alert test because their phones may have had no signal, been in flight mode or been turned off. Panayiotis Liasides said the exercise was largely successful after the 3.10pm message reached phones across the island.

Panayiotis Liasides on the test

Liasides said, "Let’s say that it can be considered a successful mission" after the warning system sent a simulated missing person alert to thousands of devices. The test message described a fictional kidnapping and missing person scenario, and the notice made clear that it was a test and required no action from recipients.

He added, "The only thing that happened was that in the first message it appeared that the link had a problem with the questionnaire and so we resent a second message where the link was working normally." The second message went out after the first link issue was identified, leaving the test message intact but changing how recipients could access the questionnaire.

CY-Alert and the missing phones

Civil defence said the nationwide exercise formed part of ongoing testing of the CY-Alert system, which sends emergency notifications directly to mobile phones located within affected areas during serious incidents or threats to public safety. Some users still reported that they did not receive the alert, even as authorities examined reports from some recipients that the alert sound was activated despite prior announcements that the test would be conducted without an audible alarm.

Liasides said, "They may not have had a signal or were in flight mode, or the phone may have been turned off." Civil defence also said instructions for activating emergency alerts are available through the CY-Alert website, and support is available through the information line 1450.

For people who saw the first notice but not the follow-up, the practical difference was simple: the system was tested, a questionnaire link was fixed in the resend, and civil defence is now checking why some phones missed the alert or played a sound when the test was supposed to stay silent.