PRAGUE, June 17 (Xinhua) -- A Czech military special plane carrying 66 people evacuated from Israel landed at the Prague-Kbely Airport early Tuesday morning, Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova announced, adding that all passengers were safe.
According to the Ministry of Defense, most of the 66 people are Czech nationals, while several others are family members of other nationalities.
"Due to the closure of the airspace, it was not possible to send a military aircraft directly to Israel. The evacuation therefore took place via one of the neighboring countries," it said, without disclosing from which country the Czech plane had departed.
The evacuated people were transported to the airport in the neighboring country by bus and crossed the border on foot, it added.
Air carriers have been canceling flights between Prague and Tel Aviv since Friday due to the conflict.
On Monday evening, a Slovak government plane carrying 73 people evacuated from the crisis-hit Middle East arrived in the capital Bratislava. Among those on board were 14 Czech nationals. ■
