The strikes in Iran have upended air travel across the Middle East and left many people stranded.
Over 12,000 flights were canceled in and out of the region between Saturday and Monday, affecting more than 1 million passengers, according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm.
Many of those passengers would have been transiting through huge hub airports in Qatar and the UAE, or stopping over briefly, when the attacks shut down much of the region’s airspace.
The US State Department has told its citizens to evacuate “by commercial means,” as multiple embassies tell Americans they can’t help them get out.
Emirates and Etihad Airways, both based in the UAE, began operating repatriation flights on Monday. However, none of them went to North America.
Meanwhile, some governments have launched or are organizing their own repatriation flights to help citizens get home.
Italy
Italy sent diplomats and teams of its Carabinieri military police to the region.
It’s transporting people by bus from the UAE to Oman, from which it has chartered flights to bring them to Italy.
France
France is preparing to charter flights to evacuate its “most vulnerable” citizens in the Middle East, its foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told French media on Tuesday.
Israel
Compared to Europe and North America, Israel has the opposite problem: it wants to get its citizens back to the Middle East.
El Al, the Israeli flag carrier, said Monday it was considering chartering flights from Lithuania’s KlasJet, subject to approval from the Israeli government.
It said these flights would take airline customers from Europe to Taba, Egypt, or Aqaba, Jordan, at no extra cost. Israeli citizens would then be able to cross the land border into the country.
The UK
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“There are an estimated 300,000 British citizens across the region; residents, families, holidaymakers, and others, many of whom are currently in airports and hotels where significant disruption is taking place,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Monday.
The government has chartered a flight from Muscat, Oman, that will take off “in the coming days,” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told parliament on Tuesday.
Cooper said on Monday that more than 100,000 Brits in the region had registered for help from the UK government.
Czech Republic
Two government aircraft were flown to Oman to pick up Czech citizens arriving there from Dubai, said Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, according to local media.
Plus, Czech citizens in Israel are traveling to Egypt, where they will be flown home by an Airbus military plane, he added.
The Netherlands
Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands has temporarily suspended its repatriation efforts due to the airspace closures, according to the country’s broadcaster NOS.
He then told parliament on Tuesday afternoon that the country is preparing for all possibilities, including repatriation in addition to the commercial flights that are available, per NOS.
The Philippines
More than a fifth of Dubai’s population is from the Philippines, most of whom are overseas workers.
80 to 100 of them, plus dozens in Israel, have formally requested to return home, the government said Tuesday. It added that it will cover tickets, temporary housing, and financial aid.
The Philippines has also placed military assets on standby to help with repatriation.
