Tweet
31 January 2011
Last updated at 12:48 ET
The US and Canada are among a number of governments to begin bringing citizens out of Egypt amid continuing unrest.
The US and Canada said chartered flights would begin leaving for "safe havens" in Europe and Turkey on Monday.
The US state department said more than 2,400 Americans had requested assistance in fleeing the country.
Tens of thousands are protesting in central Cairo for a seventh day, defying the start of a new curfew and calling for a general strike.
Both the US and Canada said evacuated citizens would be asked to reimburse them for the cost of the flights and would have to make their own arrangements to return home from airports in Cyprus, Germany, Greece, London and Paris.
In Washington DC on Monday, the US state department said more than 220 US citizens had already left the country, and said it expected to evacuate 900 on Monday and another 1,000 on Tuesday.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
The US government warned of limited space on the first flights out of the country, saying priority would be given to people with serious medical conditions.
As of Monday morning, the Canadian foreign ministry said it was investigating ways to evacuate citizens from cities other than Cairo, the centre of unrest.
"Individuals located outside of Cairo are advised not to try to make their way to Cairo, for safety reasons," Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.
"The government of Canada's priority is the safety of Canadian citizens in Egypt."
Danish shipping line AP Moller-Maersk sent a plane to evacuate relatives of its Danish employees, and Air France cancelled its daily flight to Cairo but planned to add extra capacity out of Egypt, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
China sent two planes to Egypt on Monday to evacuate its own citizens, Chinese state media reported. The aircraft would return on Tuesday if ground operations at Cairo's airport were functioning smoothly, a spokesman said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Indonesia ordered its roughly 6,000 citizens to evacuate the country and promised to send military aircraft to bring them home, AFP news agency reported.
Japan and Thailand also said they were sending planes to repatriate tourists.
But Thai Airways warned poor working conditions at the airport, affecting operations including refuelling and plane servicing, could hinder the effort.
Airport 'a zoo' Meanwhile, Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos on Monday, as thousands of foreign nationals sought to leave the country.
AP reported would-be travellers getting into shouting matches and even fist-fights.
Airline counters were understaffed, with many personnel unable to reach work amid curfews and traffic congestion in the Egyptian capital.
"It's an absolute zoo, what a mess," Justine Khanzadian, a 23-year-old graduate student from the American University of Cairo, told AP.
"I decided to leave because of the protests, the government here is just not stable enough to stay."
Powered By WizardRSS
The US and Canada said chartered flights would begin leaving for "safe havens" in Europe and Turkey on Monday.
The US state department said more than 2,400 Americans had requested assistance in fleeing the country.
Tens of thousands are protesting in central Cairo for a seventh day, defying the start of a new curfew and calling for a general strike.
Both the US and Canada said evacuated citizens would be asked to reimburse them for the cost of the flights and would have to make their own arrangements to return home from airports in Cyprus, Germany, Greece, London and Paris.
In Washington DC on Monday, the US state department said more than 220 US citizens had already left the country, and said it expected to evacuate 900 on Monday and another 1,000 on Tuesday.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
The government of Canada's priority is the safety of Canadian citizens in Egypt”
End Quote
Lawrence Cannon
Canadian foreign minister
The US government warned of limited space on the first flights out of the country, saying priority would be given to people with serious medical conditions.
As of Monday morning, the Canadian foreign ministry said it was investigating ways to evacuate citizens from cities other than Cairo, the centre of unrest.
"Individuals located outside of Cairo are advised not to try to make their way to Cairo, for safety reasons," Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.
"The government of Canada's priority is the safety of Canadian citizens in Egypt."
Danish shipping line AP Moller-Maersk sent a plane to evacuate relatives of its Danish employees, and Air France cancelled its daily flight to Cairo but planned to add extra capacity out of Egypt, the Associated Press (AP) news agency reported.
China sent two planes to Egypt on Monday to evacuate its own citizens, Chinese state media reported. The aircraft would return on Tuesday if ground operations at Cairo's airport were functioning smoothly, a spokesman said, according to Xinhua news agency.
Indonesia ordered its roughly 6,000 citizens to evacuate the country and promised to send military aircraft to bring them home, AFP news agency reported.
Japan and Thailand also said they were sending planes to repatriate tourists.
But Thai Airways warned poor working conditions at the airport, affecting operations including refuelling and plane servicing, could hinder the effort.
Airport 'a zoo' Meanwhile, Cairo's international airport was a scene of chaos on Monday, as thousands of foreign nationals sought to leave the country.
AP reported would-be travellers getting into shouting matches and even fist-fights.
Airline counters were understaffed, with many personnel unable to reach work amid curfews and traffic congestion in the Egyptian capital.
"It's an absolute zoo, what a mess," Justine Khanzadian, a 23-year-old graduate student from the American University of Cairo, told AP.
"I decided to leave because of the protests, the government here is just not stable enough to stay."
Powered By WizardRSS
Comment