Extract from ABC News
There were tears of joy and relief as families were reunited. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)
In short:
There were emotional scenes when the first of several government-assisted repatriation flights carrying passengers from Lebanon to Australia touched down in Sydney.
Passengers thanked the Australian government for securing their safe return.
What's next:
Several other flights are making their way to Australia, with the government hoping to schedule others while the airport in Beruit remains open.
There have been tears of joy and relief as hundreds of Australians evacuated from Lebanon touched down in Sydney on the first of two government-assisted repatriation flights.
About 350 people were on board the Qantas 787 from the Cypriot port of Larnaca, which landed at Sydney Airport just after 7:30pm AEDT.
Those on board thanked the government for its help.
"I never knew the importance of having this passport until today," said passenger Dana Hamieh.
"Honestly. So thank you very much Australia. I wanted to say safety is more important than freedom. Now we feel safe."
People, some with flowers and balloons, waited excitedly for their family members to arrive in Sydney. (ABC News: Jack Rowland)
Eager family members crowded the airport arrival terminal as they waited for their loved ones to step back onto Australian soil.
'It's been chaotic'
Among those were Melissa, who with her two sons was waiting for her mother to step off the plane.
"She was in Beirut. She was in the Mt Lebanon area," she said.
"She went down for a holiday to check on her mother. She was booked to come back on the 17th of October. We tried to bring it forward her flight when it started to escalate. But we weren't able to find any flights out before that time."
Melissa and her sons greeted her mother with flowers and plenty of hugs. (ABC News: Ethan Rix)
Melissa said prior to the repatriation flight she feared her mother would never return home.
"It's been chaotic especially that we know the airport could be targeted so we were concerned that she won't be able to leave even on her time," she said.
"We knew that flights were getting cancelled as well so that was a very big concern, not being able to get her out."
Sydney man Ahmad Hamid told the ABC he was thrilled to have his children and grandchildren home again.
"Thanks for Australia. The government, the army," he said.
"We've got our kids back from Lebanon, from the war. The situation there is very bad.
"We've been 10 days on the phone every night. Can't sleep. Especially with three kids there."
Fellow passenger Aurore Gharib said she was very proud to be an Australian citizen.
"The things the Australian government did for us, nobody in the world would do," she said.
"It's scary. Very scary. We didn't know what was going to happen hour to hour. We'd be sleeping and hearing bombs. We didn't know if we would be next or not."
The second flight, a Qatar jet is due to arrive in Sydney later on Monday evening.
It was an emotional time for many people arriving in Sydney and those awaiting the arrival of family members. (ABC News: Ethan Rix )
In a statement late last week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said "vulnerable passengers" were being prioritised and further flights were being planned.
But she added that the Australian-government supported charter flights were subject to operational constraints including that the airport in Beirut remains open.
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