The first of the Air Force planes sent by the Government to evacuate Spaniards from Lebanon, loaded with 204 people, has already landed at the Torrejón Air Base, as confirmed by the Ministry of Defense. This is the A330 that arrived in Beirut around 8:00 a.m. (local time) from Djibouti, where it had previously flown to deliver military material. The plane, with capacity for 228 people, left the Lebanese capital shortly before 1:00 p.m. (Spanish time).
The second plane, an A400 loaded with 40 people, is scheduled to land at the Torrejón Air Base in about two hours, since it took off from Beirut around 2:15 p.m. (Spanish time). Among the evacuees, in addition to Spaniards and some Lebanese relatives, some of the staff of the Spanish Embassy also travel, who will be reduced to the essential minimume, and some citizens of other countries, according to diplomatic sources, waiting for all the details of those who have left Beirut to be known once they arrive in Spain.
In statements to the media, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, assured this Thursday morning that the approach to the Beirut Airport was “complicated” by “sound interference.” However, he praised the work of the Air Force pilots, whom he called “magnificent professionals.” The device left for the Lebanese capital from Djiboutiwhere he had carried military material, and landed in the Lebanese capital around 8:00 a.m. The two aircraft needed to be in Beirut for a few hours for loading and refueling.
This morning, Robles had announced that the Government would send a third aircraft to take more Spaniards out of Lebanon due to the escalation of the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel starting tomorrow, although only if necessary. “We are going to see if these two planes are enough or if it is necessary to send a third plane,” stressed the minister, who assured that “everything is perfectly organized” with the Spanish Embassy in Lebanon to carry out this evacuation in the face of the worsening situation. of the conflict in the Middle East.
In this sense, he commented that although “these evacuations always have an obvious danger, as has happened in others that the Air Force has carried out in Afghanistan, Niger or Sudan, due to the overflights that have to be done and the situation at the Beirut airport , Our pilots and crew are exceptional professionals“On the other hand, he explained that although there are about a thousand Spaniards who are registered in Lebanon, according to a first approximation that they have been given to prepare the flights, between 400 and 500 people could be evacuated because “some may sign up at the last minute or others turn back“.
Furthermore, as explained by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, of the around a thousand Spaniards and family members that the Embassy has controlled, around 500 had expressed their desire to leave the country due to the deterioration of the situation.
