Estia plan put in place as Cyprus ready for evacuees
Cyprus is on standby to assist in the evacuation of Europeans and third-country nationals if conflict in the Middle East intensifies, deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou said on Thursday.
Israel’s antagonism with Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement have fanned fears of a broader conflict in a region, following a 10-month war with Hamas.
“We are ready, we have activated a specific plan, Estia, which has been tried and tested,” Antoniou said.
“In the event we are asked to assist other countries who may be moving their nationals from the crisis area home, we are in a position to host them for a few days until they are repatriated,” he said.
Antoniou told Reuters close to 10 countries had made inquiries about the scheme, but that there had been no specific formal request.
If a mass evacuation plan does transpire it would largely be by air, he said.
“We have the capacity, the infrastructure,” he said.
The hub of coordination will be the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Larnaca, which operates around the clock with its primary role to coordinate, control and direct search and rescue operations.
Some tents had been erected in the compound on Thursday, with cots which would be used to process any arrivals, people on the site said.
Cyprus played a crucial role as an evacuation hub for about 30,000 people who left Lebanon during a flare-up in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.
“Historically we have very good relations with all our neighbours, so we try to utilise this special role we have and want Cyprus to be a pillar of safety and stability, and act as a bridge of cooperation and peace,” Antoniou said.
Earlier this week, deputy migration minister Nicholas Ioannides said Cyprus will be ready to deal with an influx of migrants should the situation in the Middle East worsen.
This is to cover another eventuality that could possibly occur, with asylum seekers also expected to flee the war.
He said there are national schemes in place which deal with the management of mass arrivals to Cyprus.