Australians in Lebanon are being urged to leave while limited flights are operating. Dozens of people left the country yesterday, while a further 500 seats are available on flights leaving the capital Beirut tomorrow. Assistant minister for foreign affairs Tim Watts says now is the time to get out.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00We've obviously been preparing for this situation for some time, recommending that Australians
00:05do not travel to Lebanon for close to 12 months.
00:08The last few months saying please leave now to any Australians in Lebanon.
00:12Now Beirut Airport is still open, there have been commercial options available and as those
00:16commercial options have become more constrained, we've intervened to help facilitate access
00:21to seats on those flights for Australians wanting to leave.
00:23So on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday of this week, there were seats on flights facilitated by
00:28the Australian Government for Australians wanting to leave.
00:30Now on the weekend, so overnight, 41 Australians were on flights leaving, plenty of vacant
00:35seats though available for Australians who want them.
00:38Now on the weekend, 500 seats available on two flights going to Cyprus.
00:42We have registered at the moment 238 Australians who want to leave and we'll be contacting
00:48them and working with them to facilitate their departure.
00:51We've been pleading with Australians in Lebanon to leave for quite some time now and we've
00:55been becoming more direct in those representations.
00:58I would just say though, as someone that represents a big Lebanese Australian community, I do
01:01have some empathy.
01:02You know, people have, you know, entrenched lives in that community.
01:05They live there, they have elderly family, they have businesses, they have properties.
01:09So it's understandable this is a heart-wrenching decision to leave.
01:12But our advice is, don't think twice about it.
01:15Now is the time to leave.