UK FCDO advises travellers to leave Lebanon

The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has advised that  international travellers in Lebanon should leave now due to the unstable political situation between “Israel, Lebanese Hizballah, and other non-state actors in Lebanon”.

The FCDO advises against “all travel to Lebanon”, and that the British Embassy there has “temporarily withdrawn families of members of staff” from the country. However, the embassy itself continues to provide its usual services.

The government agency warned: “Tensions are high and events could escalate with little warning, which could affect or limit exit routes out of Lebanon. In the event of deterioration in the political or security situation, commercial routes out of Lebanon could be severely disrupted or cancelled at short notice, and roads across the country could be closed.”

It added that the British Embassy in Lebanon may become “increasingly limited” in how it can provide assistance in such an event, and that international visitors should “leave Lebanon while commercial flights are still running”.

“Do not rely on FCDO being able to evacuate you in an emergency,” the agency stated.

According to a report by the Times newspaper, the UK government has placed two naval ships and several Royal Air Force (RAF) transport helicopters on standby in the eastern Mediterranean. The military presence is intended to provide operational support to British nationals in Lebanon, should the situation worsen further.

The FCDO previously advised against ‘all but essential travel’ to Lebanon since the start of the ongoing Israel–Gaza conflict in October last year, due to fears that the war could spill over into neighbouring countries.