Cyprus Mail 6 August 2024 - by Iole Damaskinos
Germany was preparing to evacuate thousands of its nationals from Lebanon and elsewhere in the Middle East via Cyprus on Tuesday, amid concerns over escalation of conflict between Israel and Iran.
Germany’s air force has been readying a small fleet of A400M transport aircraft that could shuttle people from Beirut to Cyprus, according to German news outlet Spiegel.
The news was confirmed by state broadcaster CyBC which reported that the fleet of A400M aircraft had been on stand-by in Lower Saxony for weeks.
However, according to deputy government spokesperson Yiannis Antoniou, the Estia plan has not yet been activated officially.
The ‘Estia’ plan is Cyprus’ existing plan to deal with mass evacuation events of European Union and third country nationals from neighbouring countries.
“We haven’t received any request from other countries to activate the ‘Estia’ plan yet,” Antoniou told the Cyprus Mail.
“However, we are ready to activate it at any given moment.”
The plan swings into action whenever other countries request to use Cyprus as a hub for evacuations, with hundreds or thousands of people then passing through.
On Monday, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said the transfer of Israeli citizens via ships from Cyprus into Israel is not part of the ‘Estia’ plan.
His statement came after Israeli Transport Minister Miri Regev had announced plans to operate “maritime shuttles” from Cyprus to Israel to help Israeli citizens who wish to travel to the country from abroad to do so, as heightened tensions in the Middle East have seen many airlines reduce their service to the region.
Meanwhile, Within the week, thousands of German citizens are expected to be evacuated from the region, by air as well as by sea, in repeated ferries as needed.
At least 2,000 German citizens are residing in the region, CyBC reported.
Elsewhere, the Swedish Embassy in Cyprus confirmed it has temporarily moved its mission to the island from Lebanon, due to the deteriorating security situation in the region.
The move is valid for the month of August but may be extended, the embassy told the Cyprus News Agency.
The embassy said they had received instructions from the Swedish Foreign Ministry to remove staff to safety on August 1.
“The ministry of foreign affairs is closely monitoring the events and the security situation is under constant assessment,” Deputy Head of mission Bengt Baedecke told CNA.
Airport operator Hermes’ director of aviation development and communication Maria Kouroupi said Cyprus’ airports “are prepared to manage any potential influx of passengers resulting from the current situation in the Middle East”.
In statements made on Trito on Tuesday, she said that flight schedules to and from Israel and Lebanon are being adjusted daily.
Kouroupi also added that, so far, two to three special flights have been conducted to evacuate a small number of individuals from Lebanon, mainly embassy personnel, totalling around ten people.
“Several flights to and from Israel and Lebanon have been cancelled, while 14 flights continue to operate daily. Israeli airlines and one European airline are maintaining their schedules,” she said.
Kouroupi added that since August 2, flight cancellations and rescheduling have affected around 10,000 passengers.
“There is a tense calm,” she said. “It is difficult to predict what will happen and how it will affect us. The airports are involved and ready to handle any passenger flow.
“Our goal is to ensure that all other flight schedules continue smoothly, for Cyprus to remain a safe destination, and we hope for a return to normalcy in our region,” Kouroupi said.
