OTTAWA — The first plane filled with Canadians leaving Cairo took flight Monday afternoon, according to the Prime Minister's Office.
Early Monday afternoon, Dimitri Soudas tweeted it was "wheels up" for the aircraft, which was to transport Canadians out of protest-plagued Egypt.
Foreign Affairs said 175 of the 210 passengers aboard the Air Canada charter are Canadian.
Earlier in the day, more technical glitches were resolved despite a rocky start to Canada's first effort to pull its citizens from the country.
The plane set to whisk several hundred Canadians to Frankfurt reportedly wouldn't leave Egypt before passengers coughed up $2,000 in fees.
According to Foreign Affairs, the additional charge was for extra luggage as passengers were warned there would only be room for one bag per person.
"Canadian officials have contacted the Egyptian ambassador in Ottawa to raise concerns about additional fees charged to release the plane," said a spokeswoman for the department.
"At this time, the problem has been resolved and Canadians are currently boarding."
About 600 Canadians were to be flown out of Egypt as the federal government worked with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to move citizens from the volatile region.
Demonstrators in Egypt have been flooding the streets for the past week, calling for democratic and economic reforms, as well as the ouster of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.
During the riots, the death toll has climbed to more than 100 people, but so far, there have been no reports of Canadians being hurt or injured.
At a news conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said stranded Canadians who have been trying unsuccessfully to reach consular officials should now be able to get through.
Cannon said a "technical glitch" hampering communications has been rectified and that the number Canadians should call has been changed to 1-800-606-5499.
"I want reassure Canadians that their government is handling this well, in a professional manner," he said, amid complaints to the contrary from stranded Canadians.
Officials, he said, have already fielded some 4,900 calls and more staff has been added to handle the volume. About 200 people have officially confirmed they want to get out of the country, which fell into chaos last week when violent antigovernment protests erupted in the streets of Cairo.
There are believed to be about 6,500 Canadians in Egypt.
Cannon said a second plane was en route from Jordan and there was word from Foreign Affairs Monday afternoon that it had arrived in Cairo.
The minister said those with Canadian passports, their spouses and children, would be the first priority.
Cannon said efforts were already underway to fly out Canadians in Alexandria on Tuesday via Australian charters.
The flights were to take the Canadians from Cairo to locations in Europe, such as London, Paris or Frankfurt. The travellers will be required to sign a contract promising to reimburse the government for the cost of the flight.
Once they arrive in Europe, they'll then be responsible for the rest of their journey.
China and Iraq have also sent planes to get their citizens out.
Cannon has called the situation in Egypt "highly unpredictable" and "deteriorating."
Some have criticized what they called the slow response of Canada to the crisis.
Marie-Claude Vigneault said Sunday she had been trying to reach Canadian Embassy officials for six days.
She said local police have been nowhere in sight. And while her friends from other countries — such as France, Mexico and the United Kingdom — have all been in touch with consular officials, Vigneault said she had not received a single response from the Canadian Embassy or government officials.
"I almost feel ashamed to be Canadian," said Vigneault, who moved to Egypt from Quebec City eight years ago. "We were not even able to contact Ottawa. The emergency number doesn't work."
Early Monday afternoon, Dimitri Soudas tweeted it was "wheels up" for the aircraft, which was to transport Canadians out of protest-plagued Egypt.
Foreign Affairs said 175 of the 210 passengers aboard the Air Canada charter are Canadian.
Earlier in the day, more technical glitches were resolved despite a rocky start to Canada's first effort to pull its citizens from the country.
The plane set to whisk several hundred Canadians to Frankfurt reportedly wouldn't leave Egypt before passengers coughed up $2,000 in fees.
According to Foreign Affairs, the additional charge was for extra luggage as passengers were warned there would only be room for one bag per person.
"Canadian officials have contacted the Egyptian ambassador in Ottawa to raise concerns about additional fees charged to release the plane," said a spokeswoman for the department.
"At this time, the problem has been resolved and Canadians are currently boarding."
About 600 Canadians were to be flown out of Egypt as the federal government worked with the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia to move citizens from the volatile region.
Demonstrators in Egypt have been flooding the streets for the past week, calling for democratic and economic reforms, as well as the ouster of embattled President Hosni Mubarak.
During the riots, the death toll has climbed to more than 100 people, but so far, there have been no reports of Canadians being hurt or injured.
At a news conference, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said stranded Canadians who have been trying unsuccessfully to reach consular officials should now be able to get through.
Cannon said a "technical glitch" hampering communications has been rectified and that the number Canadians should call has been changed to 1-800-606-5499.
"I want reassure Canadians that their government is handling this well, in a professional manner," he said, amid complaints to the contrary from stranded Canadians.
Officials, he said, have already fielded some 4,900 calls and more staff has been added to handle the volume. About 200 people have officially confirmed they want to get out of the country, which fell into chaos last week when violent antigovernment protests erupted in the streets of Cairo.
There are believed to be about 6,500 Canadians in Egypt.
Cannon said a second plane was en route from Jordan and there was word from Foreign Affairs Monday afternoon that it had arrived in Cairo.
The minister said those with Canadian passports, their spouses and children, would be the first priority.
Cannon said efforts were already underway to fly out Canadians in Alexandria on Tuesday via Australian charters.
The flights were to take the Canadians from Cairo to locations in Europe, such as London, Paris or Frankfurt. The travellers will be required to sign a contract promising to reimburse the government for the cost of the flight.
Once they arrive in Europe, they'll then be responsible for the rest of their journey.
China and Iraq have also sent planes to get their citizens out.
Cannon has called the situation in Egypt "highly unpredictable" and "deteriorating."
Some have criticized what they called the slow response of Canada to the crisis.
Marie-Claude Vigneault said Sunday she had been trying to reach Canadian Embassy officials for six days.
She said local police have been nowhere in sight. And while her friends from other countries — such as France, Mexico and the United Kingdom — have all been in touch with consular officials, Vigneault said she had not received a single response from the Canadian Embassy or government officials.
"I almost feel ashamed to be Canadian," said Vigneault, who moved to Egypt from Quebec City eight years ago. "We were not even able to contact Ottawa. The emergency number doesn't work."
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