Some holidaymakers have already cancelled sunshine breaks to the tourist hotspot with one Brit tourist claiming he 'did not want to take the risk'
BRITS are on high alert to flee Cyprus amid fears of Russian retaliation.
Tornado jets which fired on Syrian chemical weapons centres came from RAF Akrotiri.
At least 25,000 Brits live on the island with tens of thousands visiting on holiday.
A defence source said: “We are confident the Russians won’t try to attack but we do have a contingency plan to get people out.”
But one Brit resident said: “I know we are being told the Russians won’t strike but I don’t trust them.”
Russia’s US envoy Anatoly Antonov has warned the Allied bombing raids “will not be left without consequences”.
And a Russian tweeted yesterday: “British b********, your base in Cyprus has to be destroyed.”
Air traffic control chiefs have warned of the possibility of “missile activity” in the Eastern Mediterranean.
EasyJet and Air France re-routed flights although they were still landing in Cyprus earlier today.
Civil servant Scott Vaughan, of Worksop, Notts, has cancelled his £1,300 45th birthday holiday with Jet2 for next weekend.
By Firas Abdullah, White Helmets volunteer
"I HOPE the airstrikes make a difference as the chlorine attacks on the Syrian people are hideous experiences — works of evil.
I was caught up in an attack in my neighbourhood in Douma just weeks ago.
The gas started to spread. It makes you sneeze, your eyes sting, headaches, nausea and vomiting.
Inside the lungs, the gas turns to hydrochloric acid. The lungs can be heard to crackle in some victims. I heard of one child who died in that attack — a boy younger than ten. He suffocated to death.
I’m thankful we weren’t in Douma last week when 70 died in another attack.
I hope the conflict ends soon."
I’ve lost everything – my friends, my house, my street and my sister.
The dad of two said: “Cyprus is 300 miles from Syria and really in the firing line. We didn’t want to risk it so are off to Lanzarote instead.”
Lee Payne, 34, added: “I’ve got a honeymoon booked there and you just don’t feel safe going.’’
But other Brits basked on the beach near Larnaca.
And Bill Lumley and wife Jane, both 67, said in Polis: “The Russians don’t scare us. We’ve heard a lot of planes flying over, more than usual but the Cyprus government say there is nothing to worry about.’’
The island boasts a huge Russian community. Limassol, the closest town to RAF Akrotiri, is home to 40,000 and has been dubbed Limassolgrad.
Moscow agents also operate on the island and some have been spotted with binoculars on high-rise buildings looking out at the RAF base.
The Association of British Travel Agents is awaiting updated advice from the Foreign Office.
