Defence forces chief Azizan Ariffin said the aircraft would fly to Cairo to airlift Malaysians to Jeddah in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.

"It will be a 24-hour non-stop operation to evacuate about 14,000 Malaysians there," the official Bernama news agency quoted him as saying.

Deputy Foreign Minister A. Kohilan Pillay, who is currently in Cairo and heading the evacuation mission, told AFP the three C-130 transport aircraft would arrive in Cairo late Wednesday.

He added that national carrier Malaysia Airlines and budget airline AirAsia would also begin evacuation flights Wednesday to help Malaysians.

"The demonstrations is going on. But our students are safe. We have assembly points to transport our students to two airports" -- Cairo and Alexandria -- he said.