The first Britons evacuated out of Israel have landed back in the UK after a “long and intense” journey.
The Royal Air Force flight departed Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport with 63 British nationals and their family members on Monday afternoon. The passengers landed at Birmingham Airport early on Tuesday morning.
One passenger said he was grateful to personnel on the ground, but was critical of the evacuation plan which has followed many other nations bringing citizens home, including the US and Portugal.
Israeli airspace has been closed – leaving thousands of Britons stranded – since the conflict started earlier this month when Israel attacked nuclear sites in Iran, prompting Tehran to respond with missile strikes.
Passenger Max Radford accompanied his elderly parents on the first British evacuation flight.
“It’s been a pretty long and intense day”, he said just moments after landing back in the UK.
Mr Radford emphasised that while he was “really thankful” to the RAF and Foreign Office staff, the evacuation plan was “shambolic every step of the way”.
He accused the UK government of seemingly “making it up as they go along”, saying that more needs to be done to get British citizens out of Israel.
“There are thousands of people – and 63 people on one flight, maybe once a day, is nowhere near enough,” he said.
Downing Street said that around 1,000 people had asked for a seat on an evacuation flight – a quarter of the 4,000 who have registered their presence in Israel or the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Foreign Office.
On Monday, the Foreign Office said further evacuation flights would be based on demand and the security situation. British nationals still in Israel have been urged to register their presence with the UK government.
Mr Radford, who paid £1,050 for three tickets, also said it was “ridiculous” that the plane had landed in Birmingham, accusing the Foreign Office of choosing the destination because it would be cheaper than landing in London.
Recalling a moment of positivity during the flight, however, Mr Radford said he would “never forget” how passengers started singing the Israeli national anthem and God Save the King on the plane.
“It just shows the togetherness and the spirit of the Jewish people of the UK,” he said.
Richard Kafton, from North London, had travelled to Jerusalem with his wife at the start of June to celebrate the Jewish festival of Shavuot.
Their return flight was cancelled when Tel Aviv’s airport was closed, and they became increasingly anxious to get home after having to seek safety in air raid shelters at least once a day.
Mr Kafton said he was “very disappointed” with the Foreign Office initially, describing the department as “very slow” and its messaging as “contradictory” at times.
“I was glad the Foreign Office got their act together,” he said. “They need to increase the frequency of the repatriation service and to fine tune the service.”
Mr Kafton was full of praise for the “absolutely superb” RAF and described the trip to Cyprus on the A400 military transport aircraft as “good fun”.
In Cyprus the passengers were transferred on to a civilian aircraft, which made one stop to refuel in Athens before making its way to Birmingham.
The Foreign Office then arranged for taxis for some passengers to get home, Mr Kafton said.
An FCDO Spokesperson said: “We are working around the clock to secure more flights and bring more people home. Yesterday was the first available slot when the airspace was open.
“A further flight is planned today [Tuesday] and more will be considered based on the security situation on the ground and levels of demand from British nationals.
“Our priority remains the safety of our British nationals, and all decisions are made with their welfare and physical safety front of mind. The situation remains volatile and the government’s ability to run flights out of Israel and the OPTs could change at short notice.”
On Tuesday morning, US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire between Israel and Iran was “now in effect”, but later, said that both Iran and Israel violated it.
Israel and Iran exchanged heavy fire before the agreement was confirmed. The Israeli ambulance service said four people were killed, and 22 wounded, as a result of Iranian strikes overnight.
Tehran also faced a barrage of intense attacks, although the number of casualties is not yet clear.
