Governments plan repatriations as Middle East flights stop

Commercial flights in parts of the Middle East have been grounded due to the escalating conflict following U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, stranding foreign nationals and prompting governments to plan repatriations.

Below is what governments, officials and airlines have said about repatriation plans:

AUSTRIA

Austria’s foreign ministry said it had assisted 117 vulnerable citizens to leave the UAE and Israel via neighbouring states and was planning a first charter flight from Muscat on March 4 for 170 people, while warning that land departures would be undertaken at travellers’ own risk.

BULGARIA

Three flights by GullivAir, Bulgaria Air and the State Aviation Operator returned Bulgarian citizens from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman on March 4 and March 5, including a 326‑seat GullivAir flight from Dubai, a Bulgaria Air Boeing 737 rotation via Oman, and a 90‑seat government aircraft from Abu Dhabi.

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech government has so far organised three flights from Oman, Jordan and Egypt to evacuate 175 people stranded in the region, according to CTK news agency and government officials, and more are planned.

ESTONIA

Estonia’s foreign ministry on March 4 said it had organised a flight with 180 seats from Muscat for March 5, and that this would be available to its citizens in Oman and the United Arab Emirates.

EUROPEAN UNION

The European Commission said it is coordinating repatriation flights under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism as more member states request help to evacuate citizens from the Middle East.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Slovakia have activated the mechanism so far. Ten flights carrying over 1,000 EU citizens have already landed in Europe, an EU spokesperson said on March 6.

FINLAND

Finland will organise a single repatriation flight with about 160 seats for the roughly 3,000 Finnish citizens currently in the United Arab Emirates, the foreign ministry said. The flight will depart from Muscat, Oman, on March 7 and March 8.

FinnAir said on March 6 that it was preparing to operate flights from Muscat, Oman to Helsinki to bring home customers who have been stranded in Dubai. The first flight is scheduled for March 10, with more flights planned later in the week.

FRANCE

The French foreign minister said several repatriation flights for French nationals, around 400,000 of whom are in the region, were planned for March 4.

France said it had deployed consular teams at Israel’s borders with Egypt and Jordan to facilitate land exits so people can fly onward, and has put in place a similar mechanism in the UAE at borders with Oman and Saudi Arabia, where airspace has remained open.

GERMANY

Two more flights with about 250 people are scheduled for March 5 and March 6 from the Gulf, after the first landed March 5 in Frankfurt, said German Foreign Minister Johoann Wadephul. He added commercial air traffic is picking up and is reviewing how Germany can offer further support.

GREECE

Greece said on March 6 it repatriated 315 nationals from Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jerusalem and the UAE on March 5. Some 162 had returned from Middle East earlier this week.

HUNGARY

87 people were repatriated on March 4 from Amman, Jordan, with another flight carrying 88 people planned for March 5, Hungary’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

A flight will also take off on March 6 from Sharm es Sheik, Egypt. Hungary signed a contract with Flydubai and rented a plane for March 5 and March 6 to repatriate Hungarians in Dubai. Hungary will have two flights each on March 7 and March 8 leaving from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

ITALY

Italy’s foreign ministry said about 2,500 Italians have returned from Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Muscat on commercial flights facilitated by the ministry.

It has expanded consular staffing in Oman and the UAE and is coordinating returns across multiple countries, with large groups moving from the UAE and others transiting by land through Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, while additional Italians in Oman, Israel, the Maldives and Thailand are being assisted or prioritised for upcoming transport.

NETHERLANDS

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said repatriation flights from the Middle East will resume on March 6. The flights include a flight from the Omani capital, Muscat, operated by KLM, and a TUI flight from Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

POLAND

The first group of Polish citizens evacuated by military airlift from the Middle East arrived in Poland on March 6 morning, the Operational Command of the Polish Armed Forces said.

PORTUGAL

A charter TAP flight carrying 139 Portuguese citizens and eight foreigners was set to land in Lisbon at 11 a.m. local time, Portugal’s foreign ministry said in a statement on March 6.

ROMANIA

Romania’s foreign ministry said on March 4 airline FlyDubai has scheduled two flights to Bucharest on March 4 and March 5. It has received more than 3,000 repatriation requests and has around 16,000 nationals registered in the region.

SERBIA

An Air Serbia flight from Sharm el-Sheikh landed in Belgrade early on March 4, carrying 67 passengers, all evacuated from Israel.

SLOVAKIA

Two evacuation flights out of Jordan organised by Slovakia landed on March 3, carrying a total of 127 people, mostly Slovak nationals, the Slovak Foreign Ministry said. More flights are planned.

SLOVENIA

Slovenia organised four buses on March 3, escorted by police, to take Slovenian citizens and families with children from Dubai to Muscat airport in Oman, the prime minister’s office said in a statement.

The first flight for Slovenia was organised on the evening of March 3, with two more flights scheduled for March 4 late afternoon and evening.

SPAIN

Spain has begun evacuating its citizens from the Middle East, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on March 3. More than 175 Spaniards arrived on March 3 evening on a flight from Abu Dhabi and further flights were expected from the UAE via Istanbul, he said.

Spain was also reinforcing its embassies in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Bahrain to provide support and facilitate further repatriations, Albares added.

SWEDEN

Sweden will charter a plane to repatriate 180 stranded Swedes identified as vulnerable. It is planning for the flight to depart Dubai on March 7.

THAILAND

Thailand plans to evacuate its nationals from Iran by land to Turkey on March 7 and March 10, while others stranded in Iraq, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE and Jordan are returning or will return once airspace reopens.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The UAE civil aviation authority will begin operating “special flights” across the country’s airports to help some of the tens of thousands of passengers stranded in the region leave, state news agency WAM reported.

UNITED KINGDOM

British chartered flights plan to leave Oman on March 5 after technical delays on March 4, prioritising vulnerable UK nationals who want to leave the region, the British Foreign Office said, after some 130,000 citizens registered their presence in the region.