Thirty-eight Cyprus nationals fled Lebanon Thursday aboard a C130 aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force.

The Cypriots arrived at Larnaka airport around noon and were welcomed by their relatives following the passport control.

Spokesperson at MFA Theodoros Gotsis told the Cyprus News Agency that 105 persons initially expressed a wish to leave Lebanon. Yesterday only 45 said they wanted to leave the country but finally 38 Cypriots boarded the plane. However he clarified that if others want to be relocated, a commercial flight will be chartered by the Republic.

According to Gotsis, many foreign nationals who are in Lebanon have dual citizenship and don't necessarily want to leave. He said that they have estimated the number of those who want to be evacuated, in cooperation with other states, at around 100.000.

He also said that within the next few days, the planning for those who want to flee the country but don’t have access to airline tickets, will be completed.

Replying to a question about the ‘’Estia’’ evacuation plan, MFA Spokesperson said the preparations began long time ago and the authorities were at the highest level of readiness due to the situation in Lebanon.

He said that there is cooperation with various states and if situation escalates, the plan for the evacuation of citizens will be in full implementation.

According to Gotsis, Cyprus has the possibility of hosting around 7 .000 people at the moment.