Less than a third of Canadians in Lebanon are taking government-assisted commercial flights out of the country when they are offered, officials said Tuesday, urging everyone to seize the opportunity while it remains available.
As of Tuesday, nearly 300 Canadians had left Lebanon on government-chartered flights from Beirut to Istanbul, a senior Global Affairs Canada official said as they discussed the ongoing operation. The official confirmed that the government is reserving seats on at least three more flights from Beirut this week, and more flights may be chartered as needed in the coming days.
“If you are offered a seat, please accept it,” Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie told reporters in Ottawa earlier Tuesday.
“The reality is that not all of the seats we secured were filled.”
Global Affairs Canada began reserving blocks of seats on commercial flights for Canadians leaving Lebanon last week amid a growing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah group.
The conflict escalated further on Tuesday after Iran, which supports Hezbollah and other proxies in the Middle East, fired nearly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of senior Hezbollah leaders over the weekend.
Israel continued its attacks on Lebanon after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. It also launched limited ground raids on areas of southern Lebanon early on Tuesday. The raids killed hundreds of civilians in Lebanon, including at least two Canadians.
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The Canadian government is aware of the presence of approximately 40,000 Canadian citizens, permanent residents and spouses in Lebanon. Of those, 20,000 have registered with the government’s Registration of Canadians Abroad system for updates and information.
The agency provided an admission form to all those registrants, and about 4,000 filled it out, a Global Affairs Canada official said. These 4,000 are being screened to ensure their admission to Canada, and all of them will be given government-reserved seats on commercial flights.
Of the 1,700 people so far who have been screened and offered a seat, less than a third have indicated they would take one, the official said.
The official added that those who reject the initial offers will continue to get seats on future flights.
Ferry services from Beirut to Istanbul are also available, but the official said the government has not yet pre-booked spots on those boats, only telling registered Canadians that is still an option.
Canadians looking to depart can also reserve seats on flights themselves, but the government has begun holding back spots because demand has made self-booking more difficult.
A commercial flight from Beirut to Istanbul on Middle Eastern airlines costs $330 as of Tuesday, and the Canadian government says it is up to Canadians to cover that cost and final flights from Turkey to Canada. Global Affairs Canada’s Consular Services can provide loans to those who are unable to cover these costs immediately.
The official said the government understands the financial concerns and difficulty Canadians may have in leaving their homes and loved ones, but stressed the importance of leaving immediately while they still can.
“I know it’s a tough choice,” Jolie said earlier Tuesday. “I know the situation is very difficult, but my priority is your safety.”
Blair said that there are Canadian facilities and aircraft in both Türkiye and Cyprus, but the current focus is on using commercial means to remove Canadian citizens from Lebanon.
We have sent a number of our people to the area. We have about 200 people in the area now but we are increasing that number as needed.”
Sources told Global News that military assets are already stationed in the area in order to move quickly if an evacuation is ordered.
Canada’s global affairs official said there are contingency plans in place in case the situation deteriorates further and airports close before their charter flights are completed this week, but he did not provide details about those plans.
Canadian MPs are scheduled to hold an emergency debate in the House of Commons on Tuesday evening on the crisis in Lebanon after an Israeli ground incursion intensified fears of a full-scale invasion.
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