‘Secret plan’ to airlift penniless Brits out of Cyprus

REPORTS in the British press yesterday suggested the UK government was working on a plan to airlift penniless expats back from Cyprus.
According to the Daily Mail, senior Whitehall sources said that if the situation spiralled out of control, British citizens who wanted to go back the UK would be offered airline tickets, and if necessary be given transport to the airports by British troops on the island.
The paper said the officials refused to discuss details of the contingency plan for expats, but ‘a well-placed source’ told them: “We are confident we will not need to put this plan into action. But clearly, we have to be ready to help British citizens in all circumstances, wherever they are in the world.’
The paper said there had been detailed talks between Downing Street, the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office on the plan to airlift Britons.
“This is something we have been looking at for a considerable period of time,” one insider told the newspaper. ‘We have been aware for many months that there was a possibility of something like this happening in Cyprus and we have taken the appropriate and prudent measures to prepare for it.
‘If British people cannot get their own money and want to come home, we have to help.’
The Daily Mail said the secret airlift plan included arranging extra commercial flights and paying for airline tickets for Britons who wish to return home but who could not get hold of cash or use their credit cards to pay for them. It is not known whether they will be expected to repay the Government when they reach the UK, it added.
“The detailed plans even cover the possibility that British subjects won’t be able to get to the airport if they cannot pay for transport or petrol for their cars. It is thought the British Army will lay on transport,” said the newspaper.
Last week several thousand expats with Cypriot bank accounts had had their pension payments frozen to protect them against a possible haircut on deposits.
And, on Tuesday, Britain said it had sent one million euros in cash to Cyprus aboard a military plane for its troops on the island in case cash machines and debit cards stop working. "An RAF flight left for Cyprus this afternoon with €1m on board as a contingency measure to provide military personnel and their families with emergency loans in the event that cash machines and debit cards stop working completely," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.