The Greek Defence Ministry’s Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft arrived at Larnaca airport on Thursday, October 3 as part of the evacuation efforts for Cypriot citizens from Lebanon.
The aircraft landed in Larnaca around 1 pm local time before proceeding on its scheduled flight to Athens.
Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias was “informed in real time… of the successful rescue operation from Beirut of 38 Cypriot nationals and 22 Greek nationals,” by Greece’s Chief of Defence Staff General Dimitrios Choupis.
The deployment of the military aircraft for the evacuation of Cypriots from Lebanon coincided with the swift sellout of commercial flight tickets.
According to The Cyprus News Agency, there is an estimated 1,200 Cypriot citizens living in Lebanon at present, while the number of Greeks living in Lebanon could be around 7,000.
The island’s evacuation procedure, the ‘Estia’ plan, remains unactivated while preparation efforts from the Cypriot government continue ahead of any such request or further deterioration in Lebanon.
Source: Cyprus Mail.
