Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie said the federal government has allocated about 900 additional seats on commercial flights out of Lebanon as of Sunday to get Canadian citizens out of the country.
“I want to make sure you get to safety, and please take a seat,” Jolie told reporters in Paris on the sidelines of the Francophonie summit, speaking directly to Canadians in Lebanon.
“At this point, not all seats have been filled.”
About 650 seats were reserved for Canadian citizens on two flights from Beirut to Istanbul on Thursday, but Global Affairs Canada said those flights departed with only 275 passengers on board — including citizens from other countries such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark.
More than 340 Canadians departed on government-booked flights earlier this week.
Jolie said that approximately 900 reserved seats are distributed on one flight daily between Friday and Sunday.
The government offers seats to Canadians in Lebanon who fill out an admission form requesting departure information. More than 5,000 people have filled out the form, and 2,300 of them have received offers of seats, Global Affairs Canada said Thursday.
Canada is urging citizens and permanent residents to leave Lebanon by commercial means as the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates.
Jolie noted that Beirut has also become more dangerous, pointing to an air strike in the center of the capital on Thursday that killed at least nine people. The Israeli military also extended evacuation orders beyond the southern border area on the same day, signaling that it may expand a ground operation that began earlier this week.
These reservations are intended to ensure Canadians have a seat as demand for commercial flights rises. Global Affairs Canada said on Thursday that regular flights from Beirut have been cut in half, but there are still between 50 and 80 flights departing daily.
The government has not yet ordered a military evacuation, although other countries have done so, although the Canadian Armed Forces have been preparing for such action.
Canadian military assets and forces have been pre-positioned in Cyprus, an island nation located off the Lebanese coast, for weeks. Global News has learned there are more personnel on the way from Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry.
Tents have been set up in the port of Larnaca to handle the potential exodus of thousands of foreign nationals scheduled to arrive in simultaneous military evacuations by up to 10 countries – including Canada, France, Australia and Britain.
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Cyprus was previously a center for foreigners evacuated during the 2006 Lebanon War, receiving 60,000 people.
Sources told Global News that assets have been put in place in advance to prepare for a potentially chaotic evacuation, with several countries preparing to try to get their citizens out at the same time with limited space.
Greece, the Netherlands and China, among other countries, have evacuated their citizens from Lebanon. Reuters reported that Spain plans to send two military planes to evacuate up to 350 citizens this week.
On Thursday, the G7 issued a statement on the escalating situation in the Middle East and called for “a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible to make room for a diplomatic solution” in Lebanon. It also reiterated the call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Canadians express their frustration
News of the additional commercial flights comes amid criticism from some Canadians of how the government has handled its seat offers and overall communications during the crisis in Lebanon.
Global Affairs Canada says it needs to screen all applications for departure information for admission to Canada before offering seats. It has committed to responding to all requests in the coming days.
Ammar Hussein told Global News that this process is taking too long — and putting his mother and uncle, both Canadian citizens stuck in Lebanon, at risk.
“It’s very stressful and frustrating,” the Ontario man said.
Global News did not identify Hussein’s mother and uncle or their current whereabouts in Lebanon out of concern for their safety.
Hussein said his mother and uncle registered with Canada’s Registration of Canadians Overseas System nearly two weeks ago to get updates on departure and consular services. He also registered on behalf of his mother just to ensure he could contact a family member, and the family filled out an application form for departure information.
Since then, he says Global Affairs Canada has not contacted him, and Hussein has been unable to reach anyone by phone.
Hussein said it was particularly frustrating to hear Jolie and other government officials point out this week that some people are turning down offers of seats.
“Israel is decapitating Lebanese infrastructure, so people have no cell phone service, Wi-Fi or data. “They are traveling through dangerous places,” Hussein said.
Global Affairs Canada says it will continue to offer seats to people who cannot reach them or decline their initial offers of seats.
Reaching Beirut airport amid the chaos created by increasing Israeli strikes and ground incursions also presents a challenge for those trying to escape. The government says those offered a seat on the plane must be ready to depart within 24 hours, but it does not help people get to the airport.
“You can’t email an 80-year-old woman in the early morning hours and expect that she will be able to navigate the streets of a war zone,” Hussein said.
“It would be good if there was some communication with Canadians, to give them a timeline of when they might expect to be removed so families can prepare to leave their areas.”
Another Canadian citizen trying to leave Lebanon, Feryal Al-Qadiri, faces a different problem: her husband and son do not have Canadian citizenship.
“I will not leave without my husband and son,” she told Global News from Khirbet Rouha.
Ibn al-Qadri was born before Canada introduced legislation this year that would expand citizenship by descent to those beyond the first generation.
Like Hussein, she was unsuccessful in getting a contract from Global Affairs Canada to try to obtain a temporary visa for her family. She was also not offered a seat on flights out of Lebanon by the government.
“We can’t risk staying here and waiting for someone to call us,” she said.
Global Affairs Canada referred questions related to Al-Qadri’s case to a news conference on Wednesday that focused on the government’s commercial departure, and did not address issues of citizenship or temporary visas.
Hussein says now is the time to do whatever is necessary to get the Canadians out.
“There is concern that the war will expand (beyond southern Lebanon) and that (my family) will be in great danger if the Canadian government does not do more to get the Canadians out sooner,” he said.
“There is no urgent need.”
-With files from Global’s Mercedes Stevenson and Nathaniel Dove
