Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 16, 2025
1 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
Cyprus is assisting Portugal and Slovakia in evacuating their citizens from the Middle East, with flights diverted to Larnaca and Paphos amid regional conflicts.
NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus has received requests to assist in the evacuation of citizens of Portugal and Slovakia from the Middle East, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said on Monday.
“There are two active requests,” Kombos told reporters. “Obviously this very much depends on the access of their civilians to neighbouring countries by road.”
Last week, Cyprus activated a mechanism to assist in the evacuation of third-country nationals from the Middle East region if required.
Its airports operator Hermes has said that dozens of flights from the Middle East had been diverted to airports in Larnaca and Paphos after most airlines halted flights to and from Israel following the start of its conflict with Iran.
With Iranian missiles hitting residential areas in Israeli cities, many foreigners are seeking ways out of the country. Croatia's ambassador in Israel on Monday said 28 of its citizens expressed a wish to be evacuated.
(Reporting by Michele Kambas; Writing by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by William Maclean and Bill Berkrot)
Cyprus has received requests to assist in the evacuation of citizens of Portugal and Slovakia from the Middle East.
The evacuation process depends on the access of civilians to neighboring countries by road.
Last week, Cyprus activated a mechanism to assist in the evacuation of third-country nationals from the Middle East region if required.
Many foreigners are seeking ways out of Israel due to Iranian missiles hitting residential areas in Israeli cities.
Most airlines have halted flights to and from Israel, leading to dozens of flights being diverted to airports in Larnaca and Paphos.
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