More than 2,000 people arrive in Cyprus from Lebanon

More than 2,000 people, citizens of 20 different countries, have now arrived in Cyprus as part of assisted departures to remove people from Lebanon as the political situation continues to deteriorate, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Wednesday.

He said the “vast majority” of those who had arrived in Cyprus from Lebanon have now made onward journeys to their countries of origin, while a total of 76 Cypriot nationals have also arrived in the country from Lebanon.

He added that Cyprus currently has the capacity for 7,000 people per night to stay in Cyprus as part of its ‘Estia’ plan, which facilitates the evacuation of European Union and third country nationals from crisis areas to their countries of origin via Cyprus.

Australian nationals have thus far made up the largest group of people departing Lebanon via Cyprus, with two direct flights from Larnaca to Sydney already having taken place, and a third having been announced by the country’s flag carrier airline Qantas on Wednesday afternoon.

The first flight, carrying a total of 349 Australian nationals, arrived in Sydney on Tuesday.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Letymbiotis also said the Cypriot government had approved a request from the Lebanese government to begin providing humanitarian aid to the country.

The aid will take the form of food and pharmaceuticals, and will be rolled out by Cyprus’ ministry of health in “due course”, he said.