Canadians flown from Egypt

Canadians were among thousands fleeing Egypt on Tuesday aboard government-organized flights, but surprisingly few appeared to want to leave the North African country.

After the third Canadian charter flight from Egypt touched down in Europe Tuesday, Canadian officials declared that a scheduled fourth flight was "not required." More than 130 Canadians were aboard the third flight.

"The demand at this time just isn't there," a senior government official told The Canadian Press, adding that things could change at any time.

"People could decide that they want to get out of there. Perhaps they don't feel threatened."

The CBC's Rosemary Barton said that for now, there will be no further evacuations until more Canadians signal they need help getting out.

"As it turns out, there are no other Canadians who want the voluntary evacuation," she said.

"Perhaps that's a sign of things turning very rapidly inside that country, and people maybe being a little bit more comfortable with the situation there."

Of more than 1,000 Canadians in Egypt contacted by the Foreign Affairs Department on Monday, only 171 were interested in fleeing, an official said. It is estimated that 6,500 Canadians are living in Egypt, and at least 1,365 were registered with the Canadian Embassy.

On Monday, 214 Canadians were flown to safety on two Canadian government flights. The Foreign Affairs Department had expected to fly at least double that number of Canadians.

About 18,000 passengers crammed into Cairo International Airport, bound for evacuation flights, but found themselves stranded after finding flights had been cancelled or delayed.

At least 18 charter flights had left Cairo early Tuesday, ferrying more than 1,500 foreigners to European locations, an airport official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to brief the media.

Canada had originally planned two flights for Tuesday, the eighth day of the protests. The first flight left Cairo at roughly 1 p.m. ET, carrying 131 Canadians and dozens of people of other nationalities. Twenty-seven Australians were among those who flew to Germany on the Canadian flights, the Australian news service AAP reported.

'We stand by the people of Egypt, young Egyptians in particular, for their steadfast support for the fundamental values that Canadians profoundly share with them.' —Prime Minister Stephen Harper

In the port city of Alexandria, 40 Canadians were expected to join an Australian flight.

A handful of Australians have escaped strife-torn Egypt on Canadian evacuation flights as hundreds more await the arrival of an Australian plane.

The Department of Foreign Affairs had said it hoped to evacuate at least 700 Canadians on Monday.

Cairo airport 'pure chaos': tourist

Foreign Affairs on Tuesday confirmed that all non-essential staff had been transported out of Egypt, although the department had scheduled additional staff in Cairo to assist and handle calls from evacuees.

Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Tuesday the department had contacted more than 1,000 Canadians to inform them of flights home. The department's call centre has logged more than 13,350 phone calls about the crisis.

"We urge Canadians to avoid travelling to Egypt due to demonstrations and protests, civil unrest, high levels of criminal activity and violence throughout the country, and the threat of terrorist attacks," Cannon said in a statement.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: "We stand by the people of Egypt, young Egyptians in particular, for their steadfast support for the fundamental values that Canadians profoundly share with them."

No Canadians have been killed or injured in Egypt so far.

In Cairo, passengers said airport workers were scarce, food supplies were dwindling and flight information was non-existent. Some police were even demanding bribes before allowing foreigners to board their planes.

On Monday, Canadian passengers waiting to board a flight to Frankfurt were forced collectively to pay $2,000 US to a police officer waiting at the gate before they were allowed to pass.  

National carrier EgyptAir has been cancelling about 75 per cent of its flights because it is unable to field the necessary crew amid the 17-hour emergency curfew imposed on the Egyptian capital.

Even having a ticket was no guarantee that tourists could get on a flight.

"People holding tickets had difficulties getting on the plane, because the airport in Cairo is pure chaos," Canadian tourist Tristin Hutton said Tuesday after his plane landed at the Frankfurt airport.

"The terminals are full of panicking people," he said.

Other countries also flying citizens home

The U.S. State Department said it has evacuated more than 1,200 Americans aboard government-chartered planes and expects to fly out roughly 1,400 more in the coming days. Flights on Monday carried U.S. citizens from Cairo to Athens, Istanbul and Larnaca, Cyprus.

Other countries that sent planes to Egypt include:

• China: At least 265 Chinese evacuees were expected to arrive in Beijing on Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. China has sent six planes to Egypt, including one that left Tuesday to bring back 220 Hong Kong residents from Luxor.
• South Africa: About 40 South Africans were expected home Tuesday after diplomats went to Cairo to meet with EgyptAir managers.
• Iraq: Three planes were sent to Egypt — including the prime minister's plane — to bring home for free those who wished to return.

An Austrian military plane carrying German, French, Czech, British, Swiss, Chilean and Austrian nationals landed in Vienna on Tuesday morning.

Germany and Britain, which have thousands of citizens in Egypt, have not called for evacuations of tourists.