Ottawa reserving commercial airline seats to get Canadians out of Lebanon

The federal government has started booking blocks of seats on commercial flights to help Canadians get out of Lebanon.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) says it took this step because commercial flights out of the country are becoming scarce as Israel's military action against what it calls Hezbollah targets in Lebanon continues.

Since October of last year, the government has been advising Canadians in Lebanon to leave while commercial options are still available. Those advisories ramped up over the summer as tensions in the Middle East escalated.

The government says Canadians are responsible for paying the cost of the ticket, although there is a government program to assist those who can't afford it.

In an interview with CBC's airing Saturday, Defence Minister Bill Blair said the flights will «get people to safety» and mentioned Cyprus as an possible destination.

«That doesn't mean repatriation all the way back to Canada,» Blair told host Catherine Cullen.

«We will get them to safety. That's our responsibility. As far as where they go from there and what they do when they get to that place of safety, that remains their responsibility.»