Governments weigh repatriations as conflict grounds Middle East flights

RIYADH – Commercial flights across parts of the Middle East have been grounded due to the escalating conflict after US and Israeli strikes on Iran, stranding foreign nationals and prompting governments to consider repatriation.

The following is what governments and officials have said about repatriation plans.

Australia

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was in discussions with airlines to help Australians stranded in the Middle East, but that evacuations would be difficult while much of the region’s airspace remains closed.

She said about 115,000 Australians were in the region and the most viable option would be to get people home when commercial airlines resume services.

Ms Wong declined to say whether the government was planning repatriation flights. “Airspace is not open. So whether or not it is an Australian flight or a commercial flight, the flights are not able to occur,” she said. 

France

A French government official said there are about 400,000 French nationals across roughly a dozen countries affected by the situation, including residents and dual nationals as well as travellers.

France urged travellers to register on the Foreign Ministry’s Ariane system; more than 25,000 were identified as travellers who had registered, the official said.

France said it has 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.

France said it is preparing charter flights and prioritising vulnerable people, with embassies and consulates drawing up lists.

Germany

The German government said the tourism industry is responsible for bringing home most of roughly 30,000 Germans stranded in the region and that military repatriation is only a last resort.

Berlin is planning to charter two Lufthansa flights, one from Riyadh and another from Muscat, to bring home particularly vulnerable citizens such as children, pregnant women and people with disabilities.

Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said crisis teams had been sent to evaluate opportunities for border crossings, amid uncertainty over how passengers would reach the charter flights.

Tour operator TUI said it was working to return thousands of cruise passengers, with initial groups heading home on Gulf carriers including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. 

Greece

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece had set up a plan to repatriate thousands of its nationals stranded in the Middle East, but that their return was difficult as airspace over the region remained closed. ITALY

A first charter flight carrying 127 Italian citizens stranded in Oman, or moved there from Dubai, landed in Rome’s Fiumicino airport late on March 2, according to a Reuters video report.

Passengers arriving in Rome credited the Italian embassy with helping them return. One passenger said the flight cost about €1,500 (S$2,222). 

Philippines

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos in Israel and other affected Middle East countries to move to safety, saying the government would arrange repatriation flights once it is secure to do so.

More than 2.4 million Filipinos live and work in the Middle East, including 31,000 in Israel and 800 in Iran, and more than 1,000 migrant workers have requested repatriation, Mr Marcos said.

Spain

Spain has begun evacuating its citizens from the Middle East, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on March 3.

Over 175 Spaniards will arrive on the evening of March 3 on a flight from Abu Dhabi and further flights are expected from the United Arab Emirates via Istanbul, Mr Albares said.

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

Slovenia

Slovenia has organised four buses on Tuesday, escorted by police, to take Slovenian citizens and families with children from Dubai to Muscat airport in Oman, the office of Prime Minister Robert Golob said in a statement.

The first flight for Slovenia will be organised on the evening of March 3, with arrival expected on Wednesday morning, and two more flights are scheduled for the late afternoon and evening on March 4, the statement said.

Switzerland

The Swiss foreign ministry said on Monday there were at least 4,400 Swiss citizens travelling in the region and that it would not be organising evacuations for them.

It said there were also around 35,000 Swiss citizens resident in the region, most of them in Israel, followed by the UAE, and that a helpline set up by the ministry had received about 2,000 inquiries since Feb 28.

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.

Britain

The British government has begun the initial stages of its repatriation effort, with the first flights carrying stranded British nationals having landed in the UK on the evening of March 2.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on March 2 that Britain is “working on all options” to support citizens, adding that an estimated 300,000 British nationals are in the region and urged them to follow local authority guidance and Home Office travel advice.

Foreign secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed that 102,000 Britons have registered their presence with the Foreign Office.

United States

The US Department of State on March 2 called on Americans to immediately exit more than a dozen countries in the Middle East, but has not yet announced repatriation flights.

Mora Namdar, the State Department’s assistant secretary for consular affairs, said US citizens should leave using available commercial transportation “due to safety risks”.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged US citizens to register with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and monitor security updates from the State Department. REUTERS