William McCulloch/PA A Scottish family evacuated from Lebanon have shared their anger with the government after their non-British mother was blocked from boarding the flight with two of her children.
Nadia Ayoub McCulloch, 51, and her children Thomas, 19, and Rebecca, 16, attempted to fly out from Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport to Birmingham due to the ongoing conflict with Israel which has seen the city bombed.
However, Ms McCulloch was turned away by officials as she does not have a UK passport or visa, meaning only her children were allowed to leave.
Her Scottish husband of 20 years, William McCulloch, 62, now intends to travel back to Lebanon from Iraq in the hope he can reunite with his wife and leave the country together.
He said: “I just don’t understand it. We paid for the three seats, she went to the airport, and she was told that she can’t get on the flight because she didn’t have a visa.
“Rebecca organised everything and she may have been told before she left the house (that Ms McCulloch would be unable to board the flight), but she thought she would just go and try because she wanted to go with the kids, but she was told categorically, no.”
William McCulloch/PA Mr McCulloch, who has lived in Lebanon since 2002, said the couple were evacuated with Thomas during the 2006 Lebanon war and had “no problem whatsoever” on that occasion.
Mr McCulloch works with humanitarian organisation Norwegian People’s Aid and is currently working to clear unexploded ordnance in Iraq.
He will fly back to Beirut later in October, despite the continuing conflict.
He added: “I have no problems going back into Beirut – if something happens, something happens, but 100% I’m going back to my wife.”
Evacuation charge a ‘low blow’
His son David Hardie, 36, who lives in Carluke, said it was a “a lot of weight” off his shoulders to have his siblings back in Scotland.
He said: “Even when they announced the flight, there was nothing about a ceasefire or how they were going to get to the airport or anything… that was scary for them, because you don’t know when the next bomb is going to hit”.
Mr Hardie said he was “angry” over the visa situation.
He added: “They’ve been married for over 20 years – it’s not like they’ve been married for two or three years, they’ve been married 20 years, and she can’t even get evacuated from a war.”
William McCulloch/PA Mr Hardie also criticised the cost of the UK government flights out of Lebanon, which were £350 per person.
He said the cost was a “low blow”.
Mr Hardie added: “We’re not poor or anything but I still feel like, if you’ve been evacuated from a war-torn country, there should have been more help.
“I think that was a surprise. Like, you get a text message, you click a link, you go in, you sign your name, your passport number, and then at the end, it asks you for £350.
“There might have been families over there who couldn’t afford that.”
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “FCDO continues to advise against all travel to Lebanon.
“If you are currently in Lebanon, we encourage you to leave, while commercial options remain available.”