Governments Ramp Up Repatriation Efforts Amid Escalating Middle East Crisis

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) -- Governments around the globe are moving to repatriate their citizens from countries in the Middle East as the situation in the region remains on high alert.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), home to some of the world’s busiest airports and major airlines, has activated emergency air corridors, with current capacity at 48 flights per hour, providing a much-needed breather for travellers.

With the limited reopening of airspace in the region, countries have scrambled to bring home their stranded citizens as the situation remains uncertain following the US-Israel attack on Iran last Saturday and Tehran’s retaliatory strikes on Gulf countries hosting US military facilities.

Live flight-tracking service website Flightradar24 said airlines have begun using Muscat as a base for evacuation flights, with Smartwings operating a number of flights over the previous two days.

“British Airways and Lufthansa will both operate special flights to bring UK and German nationals home via Muscat,” it added.

German Press Agency (dpa) reported that the first evacuation flight commissioned by the German government to repatriate stranded nationals is due to land in Frankfurt early on Thursday.

Lufthansa’s Airbus A340-300 aircraft, with space for  279 passengers, is scheduled to take off from Oman's capital around midnight.

According to the BBC, more than 130,000 Britons have registered their interest in assistance to leave the region.

A chartered plane is due to leave Muscat International Airport at 7pm GMT, bringing home some of those stranded, the news outlet said.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Tuesday that the country would charter flights to bring its most vulnerable citizens home, with around 400,000 of its nationals in the affected countries, France24 reported.

Singapore’s Foreign Affairs Ministry (MFA) and its overseas missions in the Middle East are conducting a survey to gauge the level of interest among Singaporeans in the region in assisted departure arrangements amid ongoing airport closures.

The survey advised that Singaporeans may be required to travel to a neighbouring country for safe passage out of the region, noting that it is intended to assess interest in assisted departures and not a confirmation that evacuation operations will be mounted.

Indonesia said it is preparing to evacuate 15 Indonesians in Tehran who have formally requested to leave Iran amid escalating regional tensions, ANTARA News Agency reported.

Foreign Minister Sugiono also stressed that the government would assist only those who voluntarily seek relocation, noting that Indonesians in Gulf Cooperation Council countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, have not requested evacuation.

-- BERNAMA