hundreds of people with means and a Schengen visa are escaping by yacht to Cyprus

The Lebanese families fleeing the war by yacht, Flee Lebanon by land, sea or air

Up to 180,000 Lebanese and Syrians have crossed into the neighbouring country, which is still at war, in the last week. With hardly any airlines flying and seats at a premium, hundreds of people with means and a Schengen visa are escaping by yacht to Cyprus

BEIRUT : The business focus of Ali Nehme, a Lebanese captain and chief executive officer of Beirut’s True North Yachting, has shifted rather dramatically in the past couple of weeks. Today, he is not booking tourists on pleasure cruises; he is ferrying desperate passengers to Cyprus and Turkey as Israel and Lebanon fight each other on Lebanese soil.

Mr. Nehme has access to 30 yachts, which range in length from 20 to 35 metres, each of which is capable of carrying a dozen passengers, plus a skipper and three crew members. The preferred destination of his passengers is the port of Ayia Napa on Cyprus’s extreme southeast coast, a journey of five or six hours, depending on the weather, from Beirut. Passengers who lack European Union visas – Cyprus is an EU member – probably will choose to go to a Turkish port.
The fee is about US$2,500 a head. “Our next boats leave on Thursday, but this is not exactly an emergency departure,” he told The Globe and Mail. “The passengers simply can’t find flights from Lebanon.”
Some of his clients, including embassies and media groups – he would not identify them – purchase one-month contracts that would give them guaranteed passage if there is a sudden rush to leave Lebanon, which could happen if Beirut’s airport were to close.