Getty ImagesThe UK government has chartered a commercial flight out of Lebanon to assist British nationals trying to flee the fighting, the foreign secretary has announced. The situation was “volatile” and had the potential to “deteriorate quickly”, David Lammy said, just hours before Israel announced the start of a “localised and targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon.British nationals and their spouse or partner, and children under the age of 18 are eligible to take the flight, with vulnerable people a priority.The plane is scheduled to leave on Wednesday from Beirut, which was hit by fresh Israeli air strikes overnight. As of last week, there were thought to be between 4,000 and 6,000 UK nationals, including dependants in Lebanon.The UK government will pay to charter the flight, which will depart from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, but British nationals will be expected to pay a fee of £350 per seat.British nationals and dependants will be eligible to request a space on the flight. Any non-British dependants boarding the flight will require a visa, granted for at least six months, to enter the UK.Lammy said on Tuesday that the foreign office was seeking to put on more charter flights. But he cautioned that while the UK was in “constant dialogue” with Israel, “I have been warning and cautioning that we cannot make guarantees”.Any further flights in the coming days will depend on demand and the security situation on the ground, the Foreign Office said.Speaking to reporters on Monday, Lammy added: “I urge them to leave because the situation on the ground is fast-moving and of course whilst we will do everything we can to protect British nationals, and those plans are in place to do so, we cannot anticipate the circumstances and the speed with which we can do that if things escalate in a major way over the coming hours and days.”A few hours later the Israeli military said a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation was under way against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group.Air strikes hit a southern suburb of Beirut, after the Israeli military warned residents there to evacuate.The foreign secretary said the government had been urging British nationals to leave Lebanon “for months”.”I have been warning since coming into office in July that British nationals should leave Lebanon,” he said. “Indeed, the previous government was saying do not travel to Lebanon.”Victoria Lupton, 37, is planning to leave Lebanon on Wednesday with her young family – but not on the flight chartered by the UK government.”A week ago the British government emailed us saying we should be buying our own flight, which was quite a difficult message to receive because there were no flights to be had,” she told the BBC on Tuesday.”I eventually managed to get a flight to Athens, which is leaving tomorrow. Then last night, late at night, the British government messaged saying they had chartered one flight and would I like a place on it. But that’s leaving tomorrow so I am sticking with my existing flight.”She spends a couple of months a year in Lebanon as the founder and chief executive of Seenaryo, a non-profit organisation which helps educate Middle Eastern women and children through the …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnGetty ImagesThe UK government has chartered a commercial flight out of Lebanon to assist British nationals trying to flee the fighting, the foreign secretary has announced. The situation was “volatile” and had the potential to “deteriorate quickly”, David Lammy said, just hours before Israel announced the start of a “localised and targeted” ground operation in southern Lebanon.British nationals and their spouse or partner, and children under the age of 18 are eligible to take the flight, with vulnerable people a priority.The plane is scheduled to leave on Wednesday from Beirut, which was hit by fresh Israeli air strikes overnight. As of last week, there were thought to be between 4,000 and 6,000 UK nationals, including dependants in Lebanon.The UK government will pay to charter the flight, which will depart from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, but British nationals will be expected to pay a fee of £350 per seat.British nationals and dependants will be eligible to request a space on the flight. Any non-British dependants boarding the flight will require a visa, granted for at least six months, to enter the UK.Lammy said on Tuesday that the foreign office was seeking to put on more charter flights. But he cautioned that while the UK was in “constant dialogue” with Israel, “I have been warning and cautioning that we cannot make guarantees”.Any further flights in the coming days will depend on demand and the security situation on the ground, the Foreign Office said.Speaking to reporters on Monday, Lammy added: “I urge them to leave because the situation on the ground is fast-moving and of course whilst we will do everything we can to protect British nationals, and those plans are in place to do so, we cannot anticipate the circumstances and the speed with which we can do that if things escalate in a major way over the coming hours and days.”A few hours later the Israeli military said a “limited, localised and targeted” ground operation was under way against Hezbollah, the Iran-backed armed group.Air strikes hit a southern suburb of Beirut, after the Israeli military warned residents there to evacuate.The foreign secretary said the government had been urging British nationals to leave Lebanon “for months”.”I have been warning since coming into office in July that British nationals should leave Lebanon,” he said. “Indeed, the previous government was saying do not travel to Lebanon.”Victoria Lupton, 37, is planning to leave Lebanon on Wednesday with her young family – but not on the flight chartered by the UK government.”A week ago the British government emailed us saying we should be buying our own flight, which was quite a difficult message to receive because there were no flights to be had,” she told the BBC on Tuesday.”I eventually managed to get a flight to Athens, which is leaving tomorrow. Then last night, late at night, the British government messaged saying they had chartered one flight and would I like a place on it. But that’s leaving tomorrow so I am sticking with my existing flight.”She spends a couple of months a year in Lebanon as the founder and chief executive of Seenaryo, a non-profit organisation which helps educate Middle Eastern women and children through the …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
