India looking at Lebanon airlift

With 1000 of its nationals lining up to be moved out of Lebanon in the four naval ships that entered Lebanese waters today

With 1000 of its nationals lining up to be moved out of Lebanon in the four naval ships that entered Lebanese waters today, India is now looking at airlifting its citizens from there via Cyprus. There are some 12,000 Indian nationals in Lebanon.

‘‘If the numbers remain at 900-1000, it is quite possible that the ships would bring them directly back to India. However, if the numbers are more, then like other countries, there is a possibility that we would be doing the shuttle to Larnaca in Cyprus, from where eventually an airlift would be organised,’’ the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said.

He also said countries such as Nepal and Sri Lanka had requested India that their citizens too be allowed to get away in the ships. About 100 people or so have already come on the highway from Beirut to Damascus, and have left for India.

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On Tuesday, India said it had evacuated 49 people by road to Damascus in Syria. Most were family members of Indian Embassy officials.

The spokesperson said all diplomatic steps necessary for ensuring that the naval ships were given a berth under safe conditions had been taken.

To a question about the steps taken by the government to ensure the safety of remaining 11,000 Indians in Lebanon, he said, ‘‘We have issued an advisory to the people who are there, for instance, in South Lebanon, that they should move from there, and many of them have moved. It is an evolving situation and the hostilities are taking place there. Naturally it is a dangerous place, so people who are wanting to move, we are facilitating their movement’’.

Air-India told to be ready

NEW DELHI: The government has asked Air-India to be on stand-by and ready to take-off as early as Friday to evacuate Indian nationals stranded in Lebanon from Larnaca airport in Cyprus. Indian naval ships would bring these people from Lebanon to Cyprus from where they would be airlifted. A final decision on the number of aircraft and flights would be taken after a meeting on Thursday. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation has agreed to relax the Flight and Duty Time Limitation for these operations on the condition that any airline crew exceeding the prescribed norms would be compensated with a double rest period afterwards.