Estia plan ‘fully operational’, evacuees from Lebanon and Israel arriving in by air and sea

Twelve flights in total had been diverted to Cyprus from destinations in the Middle East, carrying a total of 1,858 passengers, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos announced on Wednesday.

Of these totals, five flights and 804 passengers had since moved on to their destinations, Kombos detailed.

A remaining 349 are staying at hotels until their departure becomes feasible, while 705 are stranded at Larnaca airport, where all necessary arrangements have been made to host them, he said.

So far, Cyprus had received one official request for aid through the Estia plan, which is in full readiness since Tuesday night, and nine other states had received auxiliary support.

While airports remain open, no state organised evacuations are taking place, Kombos clarified. As the aid through Estia is state-to-state, it does not apply under such conditions, but if the situation evolves and affected countries’ infrastructures are compromised, then the Estia plan will kick in.

The priority for Cyprus at present is to evacuate Cypriot nationals, Kombos said, adding that airports are open and flight arrangements were being made with a private firm in Lebanon with the help of Greece.

Around 1,000 registered Cypriot nationals are living in Israel or Lebanon, of whom a small percentage, around 100, had requested to be repatriated to date, Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis told state broadcaster CyBC earlier.

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias on Tuesday night had announced that his government was to provide a Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft to facilitate the evacuation of Cypriot citizens from Lebanon.

As for arrivals by sea, Gotsis on Wednesday said that six to seven boats were arriving daily at the Ayia Napa marina with evacuees, including diplomatic personnel from the EU to Israel or Lebanon, who are being assisted with transfer to their country of origin via Cyprus.

Another boat had arrived in Larnaca on Monday, carrying around 15 people, embassy personnel from an unnamed country, CyBC reported.

In total 30 boats with 500 European Union or other nationals have landed in Cyprus, with flows expected to pick up over the next several days.

EU migration regulations apply absolutely, Gotsis stated, and only those evacuees who fulfil the set criteria are permitted to be transferred to Cyprus.

The Red Cross has meanwhile convened a meeting with boat owners regarding their enlistment in the evacuation effort from Lebanon. According to the CyBC foreign boat owners were allegedly charging €5,000 per head to ferry people across.

Iran early on Wednesday announced that its missile attack on Israel was over, barring further provocation, while Israel and the US promised to retaliate against Tehran as fears of a wider war intensified.

The situation is being intensely monitored Cypriot officials said.

Light explosions were visible from the island’s coastal areas overnight causing consternation, particularly in Limassol where members of the public called British bases personnel at Akrotiri, asking what was going on and if they were in danger.

According to reports on Wednesday, residents near Akrotiri did not notice any flights taking off from the base. Residents in Paphos were also alarmed and videos surfaced on social media showing the light explosions.

Defence ministry spokesman Christos Pieris, speaking to Cyprus Mail confirmed the sightings stating that the most likely explanation for the highly visible light bursts was the fact that it was a moonless night and the impact of automatic aerial defence systems from allied ships in the open seas near Israel, could therefore be seen from a great distance. He underscored the danger was very far off.

On Tuesday evening Ben Gurion international airport was shut down for several hours and 11 international flights with destinations in the Middle East were diverted to Larnaca airport as Iran launched a series of missile strikes on the Israeli Mediterranean city of Tel Aviv.

Among the flights were one outbound flight from Prague and one from Milan, CyBC reported. British Airways’ flight from London Heathrow to Dubai, Royal Jordanian’s flight from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Amman, and Israeli airline El Al’s flight from Rhodes to Tel Aviv itself also landed at Larnaca after Israel closed its airspace and both Jordan and Iraq swiftly followed suit.

Elsewhere, the United Nations had reported that 100,000 people fled from Lebanon to Syria while Lebanese authorities on Tuesday put the number of those fleeing since September 23 at 240,000, of whom around 180,000 Syrians and 60,000 Lebanese.