How different countries are evacuating nationals from Lebanon as airlines suspend flights

No country has activated a large-scale military evacuation yet

A man stands near damaged buildings, in the aftermath of Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon (Reuters)

Western nations are updating plans for evacuations from Lebanon after a sharp escalation in border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah.

The Israeli military warned several southern Lebanese communities near the border to leave their homes Tuesday, shortly after starting what it called a limited operation against Hezbollah targets.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a warning Monday to Iran, which backs Hezbollah and Hamas. “There is nowhere in the Middle East Israel cannot reach,” Netanyahu said, just days after an airstrike south of Beirut killed the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah group, which is backed by Tehran.

An armed Israeli Apache helicopter is seen from northern Israel, near the Israeli-Lebanon border (AP)

Cyprus, the closest European Union member state to the Middle East, is a likely hub, having processed around 60,000 people fleeing the Hezbollah-Israel war in 2006.

Neighbouring Turkey has offered facilities as well.

No country has activated a large-scale military evacuation, though some are chartering aircraft to assist in their nationals leaving as Beirut airport remains open. There have also been plans to evacuate by sea to Cyprus, enabling the movement of larger groups of people at a time.

Here are details on contingency planning:

AUSTRALIA

Authorities have made contingency plans that could include evacuation by sea, though it has urged an estimated 15,000 of its citizens in Lebanon to leave while Beirut airport remains open.

CANADA

News reports from Canada suggest it will cooperate with Australia in evacuating nationals by sea. The plan involves contracting a commercial vessel to transport 1,000 people out each day, The Toronto Star reported.

FRANCE

France, which has been urging citizens not to travel to Lebanon, has had evacuation plans in place for several months but has not issued an evacuation order. Present contingency plans centre around Cyprus and Beirut airport, while it is also discussing evacuations via Turkey. France has a warship in the region, while a French helicopter carrier will arrive in the eastern Mediterranean in the coming days and take up position in case a decision is taken to evacuate foreign nationals from Lebanon, a French army spokesperson said on Tuesday.

GERMANY

Germany has evacuated non-essential staff, families of embassy workers and German nationals who are medically vulnerable out of Lebanon and will support others trying to leave, a joint statement by the foreign and defence ministries said on Monday. Germans in the region can leave the country on commercial flights via airports that are still open, a spokesperson for the German foreign ministry said on Monday.

GREECE

The Greek foreign ministry has urged its citizens to leave Lebanon and avoid any travel to the country. A frigate is on standby in case assistance is needed.

UNITED KINGDOM

Britain has called for its nationals to leave immediately. It has moved around 700 troops to Cyprus, bolstering its presence in the area where it already has military assets, including two Royal Navy ships. It also has two military bases on the island. The British government has chartered a flight to help meet any additional demand from Britons wishing to leave on Wednesday, and will fly directly back to London.

ITALY

Italy has reduced unnecessary diplomatic staff and beefed up security personnel at its embassy in Beirut, a source told Reuters. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has repeatedly urged nationals to leave the country and sought assurances from Israel over the safety of Italian soldiers operating in peacekeeping operations in the area.

UNITED STATES

The U.S. has ordered the deployment of dozens of troops to Cyprus to help prepare for scenarios, including an evacuation of Americans from Lebanon.

PORTUGAL

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has advised against travel to Lebanon. The country assisted in the evacuation of a small number of Portuguese citizens living there.

An Israeli attack helicopter fires towards Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, October 1, 2024 (Reuters)

What are airlines doing?

Concerns over a wider conflict in the Middle East have prompted international airlines to suspend flights to the region or to avoid affected air space.

Below are some of the airlines that have adjusted services to and from the region:

AEGEAN AIRLINES The Greek airline cancelled flights to and from Beirut until Oct. 31 and to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 6.

AIR ALGERIE The Algerian airline suspended flights to and from Lebanon until further notice.

AIRBALTIC Latvia’s airBaltic cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 31.

AIR EUROPA The Spanish airline cancelled flights to Tel Aviv until Oct. 2.

AIR FRANCE-KLM Air France on Sept. 30 suspended Paris-Tel Aviv and Paris-Beirut flights until Oct. 8.

KLM has cancelled all flights to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 26.

The Franco-Dutch group’s low-cost unit Transavia cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until March 31, 2025, and flights to Amman and Beirut until Nov. 3.

AIR INDIA The Indian flag carrier suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice.

BULGARIA AIR The Bulgarian carrier cancelled flights to and from Israel until Oct. 15.

CATHAY PACIFIC Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific cancelled all flights to Tel Aviv until March 27, 2025.

DELTA AIR LINES The U.S. carrier paused flights between New York and Tel Aviv through Dec. 31.

EASYJET The UK budget airline stopped flying to and from Tel Aviv in April and will resume flights on March 30, 2025, a spokesperson said.

EMIRATES UAE’s state-owned airline cancelled flights between Dubai and Beirut until Oct. 8.

FLYDUBAI The Emirati airline on Sept. 30 cancelled Dubai-Beirut flights until Oct. 7.

IAG IAG-owned British Airways cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv through Oct. 7, the airline said in an e-mailed comment.

Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling cancelled operations to Tel Aviv until Jan. 12, 2025, while flights to Amman were cancelled until further notice.

IRAN AIR The Iranian airline cancelled all flights to Beirut until further notice, a company spokesman told local media including the Tasnim news agency on Sept. 28.

IRAQI AIRWAYS The Iraqi national carrier suspended flights to and from Beirut until further notice, Iraq’s transportation ministry said on Sept. 27.

ITA AIRWAYS Italy’s ITA Airways extended the suspension of Tel Aviv flights through Oct. 31.

LOT The Polish flag carrier suspended flights to Lebanon until further notice, it said in an emailed comment on Sept. 20.

LUFTHANSA GROUP The German airline group suspended all connections to Tel Aviv and Tehran until Oct. 14. After this period, Lufthansa Airlines will keep flights to Tehran suspended until Oct. 26, in addition to the previously announced suspension of Beirut flights until the same date.

SunExpress, a joint venture between Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines, suspended flights to Beirut through Dec. 17.

PEGASUS The Turkish airline cancelled flights to Beirut until Oct. 7, a company spokesperson said.

RYANAIR Europe’s biggest budget airline cancelled flights to and from Tel Aviv until Oct. 26, citing “operational restrictions.”

QATAR AIRWAYS The Qatari airline temporarily suspended flights to and from Beirut until further notice.

SUNDAIR The German airline cancelled Berlin-Beirut and Bremen-Beirut flights until Oct. 31.

UNITED AIRLINES The Chicago-based airline suspended flights to Tel Aviv for the foreseeable future due to security reasons.

LEBANESE AIRSPACE ALERTS Britain advised UK airlines not to enter Lebanese airspace from Aug. 8 until Nov. 4 citing “potential risk to aviation from military activity”.