The National Security Council of the Cyprus, under President Christodoulides examined the situation following Iran’s missile attack on Israel and the possibility of Israel responding with strikes on Iran and against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
At the Paphos airport, transport aircraft of the US and Germany are already on standby, while the British bases in Cyprus are also on standby.
After the National Security Council meeting, Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Constantine Kombos said that the situation has entered another phase in terms of danger and it is something that concerns all of us, while the EU has made a statement, as have most states, including the Republic of Cyprus.
At this stage, “our priority is the safety, both in Cyprus and of the Cypriots who are in the area and we have taken the necessary steps for their repatriation. You understand that this is something that is also up to them, to register on the special lists and so on so that we can see how we proceed. There are open airports, there is an issue with flights, we are also trying with a private company for Lebanon and with the help of Greece to solve the issues.” Greece has provided Cyprus with a C-130 transport aircraft to evacuate Cypriots from Lebanon.
Flight diversions
The Cypriot Foreign Minister said that yesterday airspaces were closed on several occasions for some hours and as a result, as had happened on April 13, a number of flights in the airspace of Israel, Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan were diverted and landed at Cypriot airports. We had 12 flights at Larnaka airport, 5 have already departed for their destination. Of the others we had a total of 1858 passengers, 804 have departed. A further 349 people are staying in hotels and being accommodated until their departure is possible, while 705 are believed to be at Larnaca airport.
As for the Cyprus “Estia” Plan, this was in full readiness and has been officially activated in order to make it fully known to all that the Republic of Cyprus is prepared. There has been to this moment one official request for the transfer to Cyprus of citizens fleeing Lebanon and facilities have been provided to 9 states that have requested the assistance of Cyprus.
Diplomats and embassy officials take yachts from Lebanon to Cyprus
Diplomats, employees of foreign embassies, Lebanese citizens as well as nationals of other countries are choosing the sea route to the Mediterranean island of Cyprus in order to leave Lebanon.
As reported by the Cypriot state news agency CYPE and the Cypriot radio and television network RIK, luxury boats from Lebanon have been arriving daily in the last few days at the marinas of Ayia Napa and Larnaca.
Diplomats, staff of foreign embassies and Lebanese citizens want to escape the explosive situation in the country after the conflict between the Hezbollah militia and Israel deteriorated.
