Around 100 people evacuated from Israel due to the ongoing military conflict with Iran arrived in Vilnius early on Thursday. However, a prominent political analyst was removed from the plane before take off, prompting condemnation from Lithuanian officials who chartered the flight.
The group, made up of Lithuanian citizens and other nationals, started their journey by bus from Tel Aviv on Tuesday, travelling overland to Aqaba Airport in Jordan, where they later boarded a chartered flight to Lithuania.
Multiple delays, caused by aircraft repairs and challenging aviation conditions in the region, marred the evacuation. Passengers had originally been scheduled to depart from Aqaba on Tuesday evening.
The cost of the evacuation is estimated at 200,000 euros. Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas announced on Tuesday that Lithuanian citizens would not be charged for their evacuation.
Three-quarters of the cost is expected to be covered by the European Union through the Civil Protection Mechanism, with the Lithuanian government funding the remainder.
The operation comes amid escalating military tensions between Israel and Iran, which have seen the two countries exchange fire over the past week.
Analyst critical of airline owner removed from Israel evacuation flight
The evacuation flight became the subject of controversy after political analyst Marius Laurinavičius, who was among the evacuees, was removed from the aircraft shortly before takeoff.
Laurinavičius claimed that the decision to bar him from the flight came at the instruction of Gediminas Žiemelis, a prominent Lithuanian businessman and owner of the aviation holding company Avia Solutions Group. The flight was operated by Chapman Freeborn, a charter company under Žiemelis’ group.
Speaking to Lithuanian media, Laurinavičius alleged the move was retaliation for his previous criticism of Žiemelis’ business activities in Russia.
Darius Buta, a spokesperson for Lithuania’s National Crisis Management Centre (NKVC), confirmed that the incident was under review and said the government was assisting Laurinavičius in his return to Lithuania.
Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys condemned the situation in a Facebook post: “We will not leave our citizen, nor this incident, unaddressed. Marius will return home, and we will rid ourselves of this Russian business ‘culture’ once and for all”.
Žiemelis, also responding on social media, claimed that preliminary reports linked the incident to a threat to blow up the plane, a claim denied by Laurinavičius.
“There’s a plane full of witnesses – it’s absolutely clear this is a complete lie. There were not only no such words used, there was no incident at all,” he told LRT.
Laurinavičius iwas expected to return to Lithuania shortly – he will first fly from Jordan to Turkey, from where he will be transported to Lithuania on a military aircraft, NKVC representative Buta told BNS. The military plane had been dispatched to the region as a contingency measure, in case the original evacuation plan failed.
Buta also assured that Lithuania would not leave any citizen without assistance and, upon receiving new requests, would help find ways for them to evacuate from Israel.
“We will likely not charter another flight, especially since other countries are now operating their own evacuation flights and sharing information about available seats or alternative routes – we will certainly find a way to help,” he said.
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