There were emotional scenes at Sydney International Airport on Monday night after hundreds of Australians fleeing Lebanon on the first of two government-assisted repatriation flights from Cyprus, touched down on home soil.
About 350 people were on board the Qantas 787 from the Cypriot port of Larnaca, which landed at Sydney Airport just after 7:30pm AEDT.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the federal government was working to help more Australians get out of Lebanon, but noted that flights were “subject to security and operational restrictions.”
Cyprus, an island off Lebanon in the Eastern Mediterranean, is the nearest safe pick-up point amid Israel’s expanding war against Iranian-backed Islamist militants. Israel is intensifying air strikes in the Lebanese capital Beirut as part of its campaign against Hezbollah.
Those on board the first repatriation flight thanked the Australian government for its help.
“I never knew the importance of having this passport until today. Honestly. So thank you very much Australia. I wanted to say safety is more important than freedom. Now we feel safe,” passenger Dana Hamieh told ABC News.
It is understood that 904 Australians and their immediate family members have been evacuated from Beirut to Cyprus after the Albanese government scrambled to secure seats on commercial flights following Iran’s missile strikes on Israel last week.
Two more flights are set to leave Beirut later on Monday.
Source: ABC News.
