UK flight news: EasyJet cancels flights to and from Cyprus after attack on RAF base
EasyJet cancelled all of its flights to and from Cyprus yesterday - amid the escalating US-Iran war.
The UK’s biggest airline axed inbound and outbound flights after a drone attack was launched on an RAF base on the Mediterranean island overnight. No casualties were reported after the incident at RAF Akrotiri on Sunday (March 1).
The Cypriot government posted on social media around lunchtime yesterday (March 2) that two more drones had been stopped.
EasyJet axed two inbound and two outbound flights connecting Paphos with London Gatwick and Manchester, and one inbound and one outbound flight between Larnaca and London Gatwick on Monday (March 2).
It is not the only airline to cancel flights to Cyprus, with BA also confirming cancellations yesterday. Other flights to popular destinations like Dubai have also been disrupted, amid the on-going conflict.
Sir Keir Starmer has said the Government is “looking at all options to support our people” as a flight from Abu Dhabi landed in London.
Etihad Airways flight EY67, carrying stranded UK nationals, departed from the United Arab Emirates capital on Monday afternoon and landed at Heathrow’s Terminal 4 at 7.17pm, according to flight tracking company Flightradar24.
Larges areas of airspace remained closed across the Middle East amid the intensifying conflict between Iran and US-Israeli forces. The Prime Minister said the situation on the ground “may remain challenging for some time” but that the Government was “looking at all options to support our people”.
He told the Commons: “We’re asking all British citizens in the region to register their presence so we can provide the best possible support and to monitor the Home Office travel advice, which is being regularly updated.
“Across much of the region, airspace remains closed, and local authorities are advising individuals to shelter in place.
“The situation on the ground may remain challenging for some time, so we’re sending rapid deployment teams to the region to support our British nationals on the ground.
“And we’re in close contact with the travel industry and governments in the region, including with our friends in the UAE (United Arab Emirates), given the concentration of British nationals in that country, and we’re looking at all options to support our people.
“We want to ensure that they can return home as swiftly and safely as possible. The FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office) phone lines are open to provide consular support, and ministers are available to meet MPs to discuss any individual cases.”