Governments Repatriate Citizens From Israel

(Reuters) – Governments around the world have arranged repatriation flights from Lod’s Ben Gurion Airport as the Israel-Hamas war escalates.

Here is a list of the governments that have organized chartered flights and repatriation schemes to help their citizens leave Israel:

AUSTRALIA

Australia organized two special flights on Friday and Sunday to bring back citizens from Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.

AUSTRIA

Austria said its armed forces started to evacuate Austrians from Israel on Wednesday. A transport plane with a capacity of about 60 passengers took off from Hörsching airbase in Upper Austria for Cyprus. From there, the Austrians will be picked up from Israel.

CANADA

Canada plans to operate evacuation flights for Canadians stranded in Israel, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday. About 1,000 Canadians in Israel want to leave, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said.

CYPRUS

A Cypriot ministerial committee on Tuesday activated a repatriation scheme known as Estia, which offers temporary accommodation and assistance to European Union and third-country nationals fleeing areas of crisis.

Aviation officials said 11 extra inbound and outbound flights to Israel were arranged on Monday. It included the scheduled repatriation of about 150 Cypriot pilgrims from Israel on Monday.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky brought 34 Czechs back from Israel with him on his government plane after he stopped in the country on his return from a conference in Oman.

The minister, who was the first foreign official to visit Israel since the attacks, the Czech government said, did not rule out sending another repatriation flight to Israel. Lipavsky arrived in Israel on Tuesday and landed in Prague early on Wednesday.

DENMARK

The Danish government said on Wednesday it will offer to evacuate its citizens as well as holders of permanent residency in Denmark from Israel. Planes will be sent to the region and the evacuation will start in the coming days, it added.

FRANCE

French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said there would be a special Air FranceAIRF.PA flight on Thursday to help repatriate French nationals.

GERMANY

Lufthansa will carry out special flights on Thursday and Friday to bring German citizens in Israel back to Germany, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity.

ICELAND

The Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday a plane with 126 Icelanders, five Faroese, four Norwegians and a group of 12 people from Germany, as well as the flight crew and representatives from the ministry, was leaving for Keflavík. The plane was expected to land early on Monday, it said.

A Foreign Ministry spokesman said the flight was chartered and paid for by the Icelandic state.

ITALY

Italy has arranged for seven flights between Tuesday and Wednesday, the Italian Foreign Ministry said late on Tuesday, as part of efforts to repatriate about 900 Italian citizens from Israel.

NORWAY

Norwegian Air said on Wednesday it was organizing an extra flight from Israel to Oslo for Norwegian and other Nordic citizens still in Israel. The tentative departure time for the flight – which was set up on behalf of Norway’s Foreign Ministry – was Wednesday evening, the company added.

POLAND

Poland will send military planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Sunday. Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Poland was sending two C-130 Hercules planes to evacuate some 200 Poles from Ben Gurion Airport.

PORTUGAL

Portugal has sent one military aircraft to Israel on Wednesday to evacuate more than 150 Portuguese citizens to Cyprus, from where a commercial flight operated by TAP airline will fly them to Lisbon, the Foreign Ministry said.

The first group of about 80 Portuguese citizens was expected to arrive on Wednesday in Lisbon from Larnaca, Cyprus.

SPAIN

Spain has sent two military aircraft to Israel to evacuate some 500 Spaniards, Acting Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday.

An Airbus A330 of the Spanish Air Force with more than 200 Spaniards, EU citizens and nationals from third countries residing in Spain, landed early on Wednesday in Torrejon de Ardoz military base on the outskirts of Madrid, the Defense Ministry said.

A second military plane was heading to Tel Aviv to evacuate the remaining Spaniards in Israel on Wednesday and is expected to land in Spain later in the day.

SWEDEN

The Swedish government will offer to evacuate Swedes from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, news agency TT reported on Wednesday, citing Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom.

SWITZERLAND

Swiss citizens were being brought back from Israel to Zurich on Tuesday on a flight operated by SWISS airline, the Foreign Ministry in Bern said on Monday.

THAILAND

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, in a post on social media on Monday, said evacuations would begin immediately, adding that the first group of 15 Thais, some of them injured, would arrive home on Oct. 12 on a commercial airliner.

UNITED STATES

Delta Air Lines said on Monday it was working with the U.S. government as needed to assist with the repatriation of U.S. citizens who want to return home.