Flight carrying Brits fleeing Lebanon lands in UK as more charter missions could be arranged

2 October 2024, 21:13 | Updated: 2 October 2024, 21:44

The first charter flight taking British nationals and their families out of Lebanon has arrived back in the UK after touching down in Birmingham.

The Dan Air plane touched down at Birmingham International Airport shortly before 8.40pm, having departed from Beirut and stopped off in Bucharest, Romania, on its journey.

David Lammy confirmed the flight on Monday just hours before Israel announced the start of a "localised and targeted" ground operation in southern Lebanon.

As of last week, there were thought to be between 4,000 and 6,000 UK nationals, including dependents in Lebanon.

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Mr Lammy had previously said: “The situation in Lebanon is volatile and has potential to deteriorate quickly.

“The safety of British nationals in Lebanon continues to be our utmost priority.

“That’s why the UK government is chartering a flight to help those wanting to leave. It is vital that you leave now as further evacuation may not be guaranteed.”

Mr Lammy said another flight had been arranged for Thursday and more would be organised in the coming days as long as it was safe to do so.

He said on Tuesday 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.

Families touching down at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday detailed the "terrifying" journey out of Beirut where missiles were landing "left, right and centre".

Lara - a 19-year-old who chose not to give her last name - was among many of those who were reunited with her family on Tuesday after being split up during the urgent scramble out of Lebanon amid Israeli forces' "limited" incursion north of its border during the conflict with Hezbollah.

The teen and her grandmother in her 90s who travelled with her were greeted by mother Solange and 13-year-old brother Ali, who came back from Lebanon on Saturday.

Asked about her journey to the airport, she said: “It was terrifying, I didn’t know if I was going to make it.

"People in Lebanon have said goodbye to me in a way they shouldn’t. Like they will never see me again.

"Whenever I hear a bang I think it’s a missile coming towards me."

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British nationals and their spouse or partner, and children under the age of 18 were eligible to take the flight, with vulnerable people a priority, while non-British dependants boarding required a visa, granted for at least six months, to enter the UK.

The UK government paid to charter the flight, which departed from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, but British nationals were expected to pay a fee of £350 per seat.

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 underway 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."

The flight landed less than 24 hours after Iran fired almost 200 missiles at Israel.

Today, Keir Starmer said that Israel has the right to defend itself from Iran's "unacceptable aggression", but urged restraint.

The Prime Minister told reporters on Wednesday: “No one wants a regional war," adding that "the attack by Iran last night... is not to be tolerated".

The RAF was peripherally involved in Israel's defence against a barrage of 180 missiles from Iran on Tuesday night.

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Two Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter jets and a Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker were present, but none needed to engage any targets.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the planes "played a wider part in wider deterrence". He added that the situation across the Middle East was "extremely serious", adding that "de-escalation remains our focus."

Meanwhile, Joe Biden said that Israel has the right to respond to Iran's bombing attack on Tuesday night - but must not target nuclear sites.

The president told reporters: "We'll be discussing with the Israelis what they're going to do, but all seven of us [G7 nations] agree that they have a right to respond but they should respond proportionally".

Asked if he would support Israeli strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, Mr Biden said "no".

He added that more sanctions would be imposed on Iran following the launching of 180 missiles into Israel on Tuesday night.