All entry points in Cyprus are now ready to help with the evacuation of foreign citizens who might want to leave war-torn Israel, Philenews reported on Thursday.
After Larnaca airport and Limassol port, Paphos airport was fully mobilised on Wednesday, while the marina of Ayia Napa also started receiving private vessels from war zones.
Following the government’s launch of ESTIA special evacuation plan, the first foreign nationals arrived in Cyprus over the past couple of days. Most of them are hosted at Larnaca Naval Base. At the request of Austria, which is the second European country to request the assistance of the Republic of Cyprus, military aircraft are expected to carry out repatriation flights via Paphos airport within the day.
The first country to request Cyprus’ assistance was Portugal. By late Wednesday, about 200 people had arrived on three flights with Portuguese C130s.
The vast majority of them were Portuguese nationals but a small number of nationals from other countries were also onboard – among them eight Cypriots who had tickets for commercial flights in the following days.
But they had decided it was safer to leave the country immediately, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Theodoros Gotsis.
He also said: “A very small number of Cypriot citizens are still in Israel, most of whom have booked tickets on commercial flights.”
But, if deemed appropriate, they will be transferred earlier by other means, he added.
