Tuesday, November 5, 2024

Lebanon: Travel advice on flights and border crossings after Britons told to leave

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As Israeli troops begin a ground invasion of Lebanon, the UK Foreign Office has announced the first evacuation fliight to help British citizens, their spouses and children under 18 to leave the country.

It is over two months since the foreign secretary, David Lammy, first urged UK nationals to leave Lebanon while they could. Sir Kier Starmer reiterated the call last month.

The Foreign Office “advises against all travel to Lebanon due to risks associated with the ongoing conflict between Israel, Lebanese Hezbollah and other non-state actors in Lebanon, and advises anyone in Lebanon to leave now”.

The preferred method is by a commercial flight. But options are extremely limited, with almost all airlines cancelling flights in and out of the capital, Beirut. An evacuation flight has been chartered for departure from Beirut on Wednesday 2 October.

Seven hundred British troops have been sent to Cyprus to prepare for a possible evacuation of up to 10,000 Britons from Lebanon.

The Foreign Office says: “There are ongoing mortar and artillery exchanges and air strikes in Lebanon, primarily on the boundary with Israel but also in other parts of the country, including Beqaa Valley and locations north of the Litani river.

“Southern Beirut has been repeatedly targeted by air strikes, including an attack on 20 September which injured hundreds.

“Tensions are high and events could escalate with little warning, which could affect or limit exit routes out of Lebanon.

“In the event of deterioration in the political or security situation, commercial routes out of Lebanon could be severely disrupted or cancelled at short notice, and roads across the country could be closed.

“Your travel insurance could be invalidated if you travel against advice from the Foreign Office.

“Consular support is also severely limited where FCDO advises against travel.”

But how is it possible to leave? These are the key questions and answers.

Is Beirut airport still open?

Yes. Rafic Hariri International Airport is operating – but far from normally.

MEA, the Lebanese national carrier, is running a full programme of flights, including the usual morning departures to London Heathrow. According to data from Flightradar24, the only other departures have been of private jets and some government aircraft flown in to bring citizens out, for example from Germany and Bulgaria.

The UK government stresses it wants British nationals to leave on scheduled flights. The problem is: demand for the few seats is intense, and finding space within the next few weeks is very difficult.

But with capacity more than halved from Beirut, and large numbers of people of all nationalities seeking to leave Lebanon, The Independent has been unable to find any seats available up to and including the weekend.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said “we have secured seats for British nationals” on an additional Middle East Airlines flight to London on Tuesday. Flight ME802 is due to take off at around 12 noon local time on Tuesday, arriving at London Heathrow around 3pm UK time.

What are the details of the rescue flight?

Details are sparse. Reports say it is a commercial flight, which may be operated by a UK or foreign carrier. It may only take citizens from Beirut to Larnaca in Cyprus; the two airports are only 129 miles apart, representing a total flight time of around half-an-hour.

It appears that British citizens in Lebanon will be contacted from the register of those who have provided their contact details in advance.

Other countries have already laid on rescue flights. Germany sent an Airbus A321 to repatriate citizens to Berlin, while the Bulgarian government dispatched a smaller A319 jet for an emergency flight from Beirut to Sofia.

Jordan’s government sent a military transport plane.

Can people leave by land?

The FCDO “advises against leaving Lebanon through land border crossings”.

The border with Israel is closed. The border with Syria is open, but the Foreign Office advises “against all travel to Syria due to the ongoing conflict and unpredictable security conditions”.

Some travellers may decide to risk the journey to Damascus, because the airport in the Syrian capital is running normally – with flights to Kuwait City, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah (adjoining Dubai) probably the best bet, due to easier connections to the UK.

But some British nationals are travelling to the northern border of Lebanon, taking a taxi for around 100 miles through Syria to Turkey and flying back from Antakya airport via Istanbul.

The obvious destination for an evacuation by sea of British citizens would be Cyprus.

At their closest the two countries are 100 miles apart. But the distance from the key port of Tripoli in Lebanon and Limassol in Cyprus is about 160 miles, representing typically seven hours’ sailing.

Ferries formerly ran between Tripoli and the Turkish port of Mersin, but no longer operate.

How do I contact the British Embassy?

The Foreign Office says: “If you’re in Lebanon and you need emergency help from the UK government, contact the British Embassy in Beirut.”

But access to the British Embassy is by appointment only. The Embassy says: “To call us in an emergency or send us an online enquiry use our contact form.”

Should people with holidays planned in Cyprus be worried?

Understandably people with trips booked to Cyprus are looking at the map of the eastern Mediterranean with concern. The popular Cypriot resort of Ayia Napa is barely 100 miles from the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Yet the Foreign Office does not have concerns about Cyprus. The official travel advice for the island has not been amended since June 2024, when it was “reviewed for style and accuracy”.

Under the heading “Regional risks” the only concern is the long-standing warning about travel to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus: “FCDO can only provide limited consular support if you are visiting areas in the north that are not under control of the Republic of Cyprus.”

Similarly, the US State Department and the Australia government express no alarms about Cyprus in their travel advice to citizens.

I think their stance is the right one. “Overspill” from Lebanon to Cyprus looks extremely unlikely. Consider Syria, which has been in a civil war since 2011; even though the Mediterranean port of Latakia is only 70 miles from Cyprus, there has been no danger posed to the island as a result of that tragic conflict.

As the Foreign Office does not warn against travel to Cyprus, there is no prospect of being able to cancel a trip for a full refund. Neither will travel insurance be of help; the insurer will say that there is no reason not to go.

It is legally possible to transfer a proper package holiday to someone else – though time is short to do this before Saturday.

Alternatively, the holiday company may possibly offer the chance to switch to a different destination; this is relatively low season, and there may be capacity elsewhere.

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