The first of several Australian government-chartered evacuation flights from Lebanon arrived in Cyprus at 11:30 on Saturday morning, carrying 229 passengers.
A similar number is expected to arrive around 16:00 the same day, according to philenews sources.
The Australian High Commissioner to Cyprus and representatives from the Cypriot Foreign Ministry were present at Larnaca Airport’s old arrivals terminal, where arrangements have been made to process the evacuees.
As part of “Estia Plan”, the Australian nationals will be transferred to a military recruit training centre (KEN). If the number of evacuees exceeds 600, closed school halls will be used to accommodate them.
The Australian government plans to evacuate hundreds more of its citizens from Lebanon via flights to Larnaca Airport over the next five days.
Numerous international media outlets, particularly from Australia, as well as journalists from major news agencies, have gathered at the old Larnaca Airport terminal to cover the evacuation efforts.
(image/video source: George Christoforou)
