People leaving Lebanon continued to arrive in Cyprus on Thursday, with flights landing at Larnaca airport and boats continuing to dock at the marinas in Larnaca and Ayia Napa as the political situation in the country continues to deteriorate.
The Cyprus News Agency stated that two aircraft carrying Australian nationals are set to land at Larnaca on Thursday afternoon.
It added that those on board will stay overnight on the island before boarding a direct chartered flight to Sydney on Friday.
At the same time, passenger services between Cyprus and Israel are continuing as normal on Thursday, with 12 planned arrivals at Larnaca from Israel and ten departures for Israel scheduled.
Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign ministry on Thursday reported that a total of 24 Turkish Cypriots had boarded a ship which had sailed from the Turkish Mediterranean city of Mersin to Beirut to facilitate the departures of Turkish nationals and Turkish Cypriots from Lebanon.
The ministry said a total of 966 people had boarded the ship, of whom 878 were Turkish nationals, 24 were Turkish Cypriots, and 64 were first degree relatives of either Turkish nationals or Turkish Cypriots on board.
In Cyprus, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis had said on Wednesday that more than 2,000 people, citizens of 20 different countries, had arrived on the island from Lebanon.
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 on the island 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.
