Letymbiotis denies there was ever a ‘suspicious object’ in skies above Lebanon

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis on Wednesday afternoon denied that there had ever been a “suspicious object” in the skies above Lebanon, after two Greek F-16 fighter jets which were stationed in Paphos were scrambled earlier in the day.

He said that “all the required protocols were immediately activated” and that “two aircraft operated for a considerable time in the area”, but he did not detail what exactly caused the two jets to take off in the first place, if there had been no suspicious objects in the sky.

Additionally, he said that Cypriot airspace “was never closed”, and that instead, “what was done was to provide the necessary space for the operations of the two [F-16s], resulting in two flights being held, one of which returned to its original destination”.

The pilot of the flight which returned to its destination of origin, Aegean Airlines flight 902 from Athens, had informed passengers during the flight that “due to military reasons, the airspace above Larnaca is closed”.

Letymbiotis also said that President Nikos Christodoulides had on Wednesday held a telephone conversation with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun.

More to follow…