London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Apr 20, 2025

Sudan: Evacuation flight carrying Britons arrives in UK

Sudan: Evacuation flight carrying Britons arrives in UK

The first flight carrying British nationals escaping conflict-hit Sudan has landed in the UK.

The flight carrying 250 people from Larnaca Airport in Cyprus arrived at Stansted Airport on Wednesday.

British troops are organising the evacuation from the east African country, under cover of a ceasefire which is due to end at midnight on Thursday.

Eight flights are expected to leave Khartoum by the end of Wednesday.

The government has faced some criticism over the speed of the evacuations.

Trapped British nationals have been making their own way to an airstrip near the Sudanese capital Khartoum to get on RAF military flights which take them to Larnaca before their onward journey to the UK.

More than 300 British national have now boarded four evacuation flights from Sudan, the Foreign Office says. Eight will have left by the end of the day.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman sent reassurances that the government would be supporting British nationals and their dependents in the "fast moving and complex situation".

But she added there were no plans to introduce a legal route for people fleeing Sudan to claim asylum in the UK.

Alicia Kearns, chairwoman of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, said elderly people dependent on their British citizen children should be allowed on flights to the UK.

"In the same way we treat children who are dependent on their parents, we should respect that some elderly people are dependent on their children," she said.

Flights should include those who would "otherwise be left destitute and really vulnerable", she said.

There has been concern over whether the runway at the Khartoum airstrip will hold up over the next couple of days.

The BBC has learned from a well-placed source that it is beginning to break up due to the sheer numbers of aircraft taking off and landing.

If flights are no longer possible, people may then have to take the potential alternative route to Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast for a possible seaborne evacuation.

But government sources said they were aware of the issue with the runway and were confident it would not be a limiting factor in the flights.

Concerns have been raised about aircraft had been leaving Sudan with empty seats.

But Brigadier Dan Reeve, the most senior military official overseeing the evacuation, said it was the Foreign Office not the military deciding who was eligible to get on flights.

He also defended the decision not to escort people to the airport, even though some other countries have done this with their nationals.

Speaking to the BBC, he said: "This is not a race to get it wrong. In my professional judgement it would not be safe to bring people together in one location in Khartoum and seek to extract them.

"We've seen incidents of convoys being attacked."

Brig Reeve further explained he thought there had been a "good rate of flow" so far, adding the plan was move about 500 people a day on five aircraft.

Speaking to the BBC at Larnaca Airport, passengers said they were delighted to be going home, but reaching the flight had been difficult because of limited UK government help.

One man said he had to take a bus with his young family and had never been so scared.

Yahya Yahya told the BBC it was "a very difficult time" and he was "thankful that we've finally made it to a safe place".

A British man whose sister managed to be evacuated overnight told the BBC she felt an overwhelming sense of relief to have escaped.

He said at one point she and 13 others had only four dates and one egg left to share between them because it was not safe for them to go out to look for food.

UK nationals arrived in Cyprus on Wednesday morning on their way back to the UK


Around 120 British troops are supporting the evacuation at the Wadi Saeedna airstrip. Downing Street said the British military would defend the airfield in Sudan but clarified efforts would be made to avoid "active engagement" with other forces.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's official spokesman said the "majority" of those on board the rescue flights were British nationals, but also included some allies' citizens.

"We're calling everyone forward and we have no issue with capacity, and people are being processed smoothly," he said, adding those travelling to the airport were not having significant issues.

Mr Sunak also told the House of Commons on Wednesday the UK "will continue to work to end the bloodshed in Sudan and support a democratic government"."I pay tribute to all those carrying out this complex operation," he said.

Clashes between the Sudanese army and paramilitary group the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began on 15 April. Hundreds of people have since died and thousands have been injured in the conflict.

Airlifting large numbers of people out of Sudan has been complicated by major airports becoming battlegrounds, and movement out of the capital has been perilous.

Young children were among the British nationals to arrive at Larnaca International Airport


The government is also considering a seaborne evacuation from Port Sudan, some 500 miles from the capital. HMS Lancaster and RFA Cardigan Bay have been sent to the region.

Only British passport holders and immediate family members with existing UK entry clearance are being told they are eligible for the evacuation flights.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
U.S. Tariff Escalation Sparks Global Trade Tensions
Helicopter crashes in NYC with four people on board.
Australia Dismisses China's Suggestion to Collaborate Against US Tariffs
EU Postpones Response to US Tariffs
The Trump Administration is contemplating removing Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Violent Incidents and Public Safety Concerns Escalate in London and County Durham
UK MP Arrested on Suspicion of Rape and Child Sex Offences
UK Gears Up to Respond to US Tariffs with Industrial Strategies and Trade Initiatives
‘Rocky’ star Dolph Lundgren and his wife Emma Krokdal bask in the Miami sunshine following the actor’s lengthy health struggles.
Spain Encounters Countrywide Protests as Housing Crisis Intensifies
Alisha Lehmann's Modeling Campaign and Public Controversy Stir Debate Ahead of UEFA Women's Euro
U.S. Firms with Major International Revenue Exposure in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Calls on the Federal Reserve to Reduce Interest Rates in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Prolongs TikTok Sale Deadline by 75 Days
Global Markets Dive Amid Rising U.S.-China Trade Conflicts
British comedian Russell Brand faces charges of rape and several sexual assaults.
Kanye West Reveals in a New Song That His Wife Bianca Censori Has Departed from Him
Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme Accused of Having Sex with Human Trafficking Victims
Tom Cruise Pays Tribute to Val Kilmer at CinemaCon
Europe Pursues Digital Autonomy Amidst Transatlantic Strains
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Funding.
×